^gUf^fffi^ 

EX  LIBHIS 


MERCHANDISE  MANUAL  SERIES 


MILLINERY 


BY 

CHARLOTTE  RANKIN  ATKL'N,  E.A. 

Formerly  Educational  Director,  Lasalle  and  Koch, 
Toledo,  Ohio 


NEW  YORK 
THE  RONALD  PRESS  COMPANY 

1922 


Copyright,  1918,  by 
THE  RONALD  PRESS  COMPANY 


Copyright,  1922,  by 

THE  RONALD  PRESS  COMPANY 

All  rights  reserved 


Series  ts  Bebtcateb 

to  Mrs.  Henry  Ollesheimer,  Miss 
Virginia  Potter,  and  Miss  Anne 
Morgan,  who  desiring  to  give 
greater  opportunity  for  advance- 
ment to  commercial  employees  and 
believing  that  all  business  efficiency 
must  rest  upon  a  solid  foundation 
of  training  and  education  gave 
years  of  enthusiastic  service  to  the 
testing  of  this  belief. 


737899 


MERCHANDISE   MANUAL  SERIES 


EDITOR   OF   SERIES 

BEULAH  ELFRETH  KENNARD,   M.A. 

Formerly  Director  of  Department  Store  Courses,  New  York 

University;  Chairman  of  Committee  on  Merchandise  Courses 

for   New  York   City  Public   Schools;    Educational   Director, 

Department  Store  Education  Association 


CONSULTING  EDITOR 

LEE   GALLOWAY,   PH.D. 

Professor  of  Commerce  and  Industry,  Head  of  Department 
of  Management,  and  formerly  Director  of  Training  School 
for  Teachers  of  Retail  Selling,  New  York  University  • 
formerly  Educational  Director,  the  National  Commercial 
Gas  Association 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

As  "Department  Store  Merchandise  Manuals"  these 
books  were  originally  written  for  salespeople  and  were 
designed  to  give  them  reliable  information  concerning 
the  sources  and  manufacturing  processes  of  the  mer- 
chandise which  they  handle.  When  it  was  necessary 
to  deal  with  scientific  or  historical  material  it  was 
treated  as  simply  and  concretely  as  possible  and  the 
point  of  view  taken  was  that  of  business  rather  than 
that  of  the  school  or  laboratory.  In  this  form  they 
have  proved  their  practical  value  not  only  to  the  de- 
partment store  salesperson  but  in  the  specialty  shop. 
It  has  been  pointed  out,  however,  that  the  material  has 
a  wider  scope  than  that  of  sales  manuals  alone. 

As  reference  books,  librarians  will  find  the  short, 
clear  statements  and  full  indexes  invaluable. 

As  an  encyclopaedia  of  merchandise  the  series  con- 
tains scientific  information  in  a  simple,  compact  form 
which  makes  it  available  for  children  and  others  to 
whom  the  subjects  treated  are  unfamiliar. 

As  textbooks  they  are  adapted  for  use  in  commercial 
schools,  high  schools,  night  schools,  settlement  classes, 
and  by  teachers  of  household  arts  and  domestic  science. 

v 


VI  EDITOR'S  PREFACE 

As  source  books  for  practical  story-telling,  kinder- 
gartners,  primary  and  vacation  school  teachers  will 
find  in  them  an  abundance  of  interesting  material  for 
short  "true"  stories  on  the  various  industries  and  crafts, 
the  manufacture  of  household  articles,  such  as  pins 
and  needles,  as  well  as  the  making  of  pottery, 
glass,  and  steel.  These  manuals  contain  just  the 
material  often  hunted  for  in  vain  by  teachers  and 
librarians. 

As  household  helps  and  shopping  guides  the  young 
housekeeper  will  find  the  manuals  her  best  friends  be- 
cause they  not  only  describe  the  manufacturing  pro- 
cesses but  tell  her  how  to  distinguish  well-made  articles 
of  good  materials  from  the  inferior  and  badly  made. 
They  also  tell  her  how  to  care  for  the  clothing  or 
household  goods  which  she  has  bought. 

For  salespeople  and  storekeepers  they  supply  the 
general  and  specific  information  about  their  merchan- 
dise which  is  indispensable  to  efficiency,  yet  very 
hard  to  gather  from  the  scattered  sources  upon  which 
they  now  depend. 

These  changes  should  enlarge  the  usefulness  of  the 
manuals  without  losing  any  of  their  specific  value  in 
the  field  of  salesmanship. 

The  subjects  of  color  and  design  are  of  great  im- 
portance in  the  treatment  of  many  kinds  of  merchan- 
dise. To  avoid  any  confusion  arising  from  varied 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE  vii 

statements  of  principles  the  editor  has  put  the  material 
into  a  standardized  form  approved  by  the  authors  of 
the  manuals  in  which  these  chapters  appear. 

We  wish  to  express  our  grateful  appreciation  to  the 
manufacturers  and  experts  who  have  given  us  such 
valuable  counsel  and  cordial  co-operation. 

BEULAH  ELFRETH  KENNARD. 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

In  gathering  the  information  for  this  manual  the 
author  found  few  publications  dealing  with  the  processes 
of  hat-making  in  foreign  countries,  except  the  United 
States  Government's  report  on  "  Philippine  Hats."  This 
is  due  to  the  zeal  with  which  foreign  producers  and  ex- 
porters have  guarded  the  secrets  of  their  industry,  and 
also  to  the  lack  of  any  systematic  investigation  of  the 
subject.  The  weaving  of  braids  in  distant  countries  has 
been  carried  on  in  the  homes,  and  the  art  has  been  handed 
down  from  one  generation  to  another ;  therefore  the  facts 
concerning  it  have  been  difficult  to  discover.  Informa- 
tion as  to  the  millinery  manufactories  in  this  country 
was  more  easily  obtained,  as  the  extensive  and  pro- 
gressive establishments  of  the  trade  have  shown  a  most 
generous  co-operation. 

The  author  is  greatly  indebted  to  the  original  re- 
searches of  Miss  B.  Cannon,  Educational  Director, 
Wm.  Filene  Sons  Company,  Boston.  Miss  Cannon  se- 
cured reports  and  information  from  United  States  con- 
sular officials  in  foreign  countries  and  made  a  compila- 
tion of  data  on  the  subject.  The  author  is  also  indebted 
to  the  kindness  of  the  United  States  Government  expert 
on  commercial  fibers ;  to  the  practical  suggestions  of  Mr. 
M.  B.  Kreeger  of  the  Kreeger  Store,  Inc.,  of  New  Or- 

viii 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE  ix 

leans;  to  The  Dry  Goods  Economist,  and  The  Milli- 
nery Trade  Review  for  certain  information;  also  to 
R.  H.  Comey  and  Company,  dyers  and  bleachers  of 
straw  braids,  to  Gage  Brothers  and  Company,  to  Mrs. 
E.  G.  McClelland  of  Woman's  Wear,  and  to  the  editor 
of  the  series  for  the  preparation  of  Chapter  XII. 
For  illustrations  thanks  are  due  to  the  United  States 
Department  of  Agriculture,  The  Philippine  Bureau  of 
Education,  The  Millinery  Trade  Review,  The  Philip- 
pine Craftsman,  The  National  Geographic  Magazine, 
and  Robert  M.  McBride  and  Company. 

This  volume,  with  the  exception  of  Chapters  I  and 
XVI,  applies  to  the  buying  of  hats,  since  the  greater 
knowledge  of  the  subject  the  purchaser  possesses,  the 
wiser  will  be  her  selections.  Obviously,  if  she  knows 
materials,  straws,  etc.,  she  will  buy  with  greater  assur- 
ance. Thus  the  knowledge  she  may  have  gained  by 
observation  will  be  greatly  increased  by  study.  A 
knowledge  of  the  colors  that  are  becoming  and  of 
the  lines  which  bring  out  the  best  features  of  the  face, 
is  essential  in  buying  hats.  Everyone  has  picked  up 
miscellaneous  information  about  hats,  but  the  scientific 
study  of  them  will  no  doubt  be  an  aid  to  many.  It  is 
a  pleasure  also,  to  learn  the  romance  of  millinery, 
and  to  know  how  the  peoples  in  the  far  corners  of 
the  earth  toil  for  the  adornment  of  our  heads. 

It  is  sincerely  hoped  that  those  who  take  up  these 


X  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

studies  for  use  in  the  home,  the  store,  or  the  school 
may  find  this  book  of  some  service  for  practical  appli- 
cation to  their  needs. 

CHARLOTTE  RANKIN  AIKEN. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I     THE  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT  ....       I 

Plan  of  Department 
General  Impression 
Atmosphere 
Stock  Tables 
"  Trying  on  "  Tables 
Display  Cases 
Counter  Cases 
Arrangement  of  Stock 
"  French  Rooms  " 
Stock  and  Workrooms 

II     HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS    ....     8 

Most  Important  Material 

Italian  Straw  Best 

Climate  and  Soil 

Gathering  and  Bleaching 

Sorting 

Centers  of  the  Plaiting  Industry 

Method  of  Plaiting 

III     HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  (Continued)    14 

Varieties 
Tuscan  Braid 
Florence  Tuscan  Braid 
Leghorn  Hats 
Plaiting  Leghorn 
Milan  Braid 
Patent  Milan 
Split  Straw 

xi 


xii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Lisere 

Oriental  Braids 

Braid-Making  in  China 

Chinese   Straw 

Swiss  Straw 

Hemp 

Hemp  Hats 

Hemp-Weaving  Industry 

Philippine  Factories 

Milan  Hemp 

Imitation  Hemp 

Machine-Made  Braids 

Chip 

Yedda 

Ramie 

Horsehair 

Pyroxylin 

Chrysanthemum  Braid 

IV    STRAW  HAT-MAKING    ........     32 

Hand-Made  Hats 

Panama  Hats 

Location  of  Industry 

Gathering  the  Raw  Material 

Toughening  and   Bleaching 

Plaiting  by  the  Natives 

Process  of  Making 

Finishing 

Method  of  Cleaning 

Tests  for  Quality 

Imitation    Panamas 

Wenchow 

Philippine  Hats 

Bamboo  Hats 

Weaving  Bamboo 

Double  Hats 

Qualities  of  the  Bamboo  Hat 

Buri  Hats 

Kalasio  Hats 

Buntal  Hats 

Pandan  Hats 

Minor  Hat  Materials 

Export  Trade 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

V    MACHINE-MADE  STRAW  HATS      ......     46 

Development  of  Industry 

Location  of  Factories 

Different  Kinds  of  Factories 

Receiving  the  Braids 

Sewing  the  Braid  into  Hats 

Sizing 

Blocking 

Additional  Blocking 

Finishing 

Sewed  Braids 

^VI    FELT  HATS .52 

Felting  Properties  of  Wool  and  Fur 

Sources  of  Felt 

First   Process 

Washing  the  Skins 

Drying  and  Cutting 

Sorting  and  Grading 

Mixing 

Cleansing  the  Fur 

Forming 

Felting  Process  Begun 

Sizing 

Dyeing 

Stiffening 

Stretching 

Finishing   Processes 

Different  Grades  of  Felt 

History  of  Felt  Hats 

f\Vll    VELVET  AND  OTHER  FABRIC  HATS      ...     63 
Use  of  Velvet  and  Other  Fabrics  in  Hats 
Manufacture   of    Pile   Fabrics 
Ways  to  Determine  Quality  of  Velvet 
Manufacture  of  Velvet  Hats 
Silk  and  Satin  Hats 
Durability  of  Silk  Hats 
Weighted  Silk 
Other  Fabric  Hats 
New  Materials 
Fur  Hats 
Miscellaneous  Fabrics 


xiv  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

VIII    HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FEATHERS      .     ..     ,.     .,    70 

Varieties 

How  Style  Is  Influenced 

The  Story  of  Trimmings 

Feathers 

Treatment  of  Feathers 

Ostrich  Feathers 

Ostrich  Farms 

Forms  of  Ostrich  Feathers 

Dyeing  Ostrich  Feathers 

Black  Dye 

Vulture  Wings 

Peacock  and  Pheasant 

Wild  Duck,  Parrot,  and  Guinea-Fowl 

Pigeon 

Fowl 

"  Spanish  Coq  "  and  Hackle 

Egret  or  Aigret  (a  Kind  of  Heron) 

Bird  of  Paradise 

Other  Wild  Birds  Used  for  Hat  Trimming 


IX    HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FLOWERS 85 

Sources  of  Artificial  Flowers 

Flower  Materials 

Stiffening  and  Cutting  Out 

Dyeing 

Making 

How  Flowers  Come  to  the  Milliner 

Roses 

Field  Flowers 

Applique  Flowers 

Violets 

Small  Flowers 

Odd  Flowers 

Rare  Flowers 

Natural   Flowers 

Foliage 

Fruits 


CONTENTS  xv 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

X     X    HAT   TRIMMINGS  —  RIBBONS,   BANDS,   AND 
'  ORNAMENTS 93 

Silk   Ribbons 

Weaves 

Ribbon  Patterns 

Widths  of  Ribbons 

Bands 

Ornaments 

Embroidery  and    Painting 

Other  Trimmings 

Fur  Trimmings 

XI  .CHOOSING  A  BECOMING  HAT    .     ....     .     .     .  100 

V  Importance  of  the  Choice 
Good   Taste 

The  Cause  of  Bad  Taste 
The  Duty  of  Women  to  be  Beautiful 
Importance  of  a  Hat  in  a  Costume 
The  Saleswoman's  Part  in  Selecting  a  Hat 
Line  and   Color   in    Millinery 
Observation  and  Study  of  Dress 
Style  in  Millinery 
Change  in   Styles 
Extreme  and  Conservative  Styles 
Suitability 

Putting  One's  Self  in  the  Customer's  Place 
What  Constitutes  a  Suitable  Hat 
Suiting  the  Age  of  a  Customer 
Actively  Becoming  Hats 
The  Most  Important  Elements  in  Choosing  a 
Hat 

XII     PRINCIPLES  OF  COLOR no 

Importance  of  a  Knowledge  of  Color  to  the 

Salesperson 

Combinations  of  Colors 
The  Spectrum 
Standard  Colors 
Primary  Colors 
Secondary  Colors 


xvi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Characteristics  of  Primary  Colors 
Characteristics  of   Secondary  Colors 
Luminous  and  Somber  Colors 
Broken  Colors 

Absorption  and  Reflection  of  Color 
Complementary  Colors 
Properties  of  Color 
Hues 
.Values 
Color  Scales 
Intensity 

Color  Harmonies 
Color  Under  Artificial  Light 

*     XIII     COLOR  IN  MILLINERY 124 

Commercial  Names  of  Colors 
Training  the  Sense  of  Color 
Questions  of  Taste  Solved  by  a  Knowledge  of 

Color  Harmony 

Bringing  Out  the  Best  Features  in  a  Face 
Reflection 

Characteristics  of  Colors 
Red 
Orange 
Yellow 
Green 
Blue 
Violet 

Variety  in  Color 
Restfulness  of  Neutral  Colors 
Combinations  of  Neutrals  with  Brighter 

Colors 
How  to  Train  One's  Self  in  Color-Taste 

FORM  OR  SHAPE  IN  MILLINERY    ....   139 

Choosing  a  Hat 

Importance  of  the  Lines  of  a  Hat 

Relation  Between  the  Parts  of  the  Hat 

Lines,  Curves,  and  Angles,  and  Their  Relations 

Symmetry  in  a  Hat 


CONTENTS  xvii 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

Balance 

Adapting  the  Size  and  Shape  of  a  Hat  to  the 

Wearer 

The  Full,  Round  Face 
Flat  Features 
Snub  Noses 
The  Thin  Face 
The  Angular  Face 
Age 

Medium  Type  of  Face 
Extremes 

XV    MAKING  AND  TRIMMING  HATS     ....   152 

Relation  Between  the  Saleswoman  and  the 

Workroom 
Hat  Frames 

The  Buckram  or  Willow  Frame 
The  Wire  Frame 
Bows 

Method  of  Affixing  Trimmings 
Linings 
Freshening  and  Cleaning 

XVI    SUGGESTIONS  TO  SALESPEOPLE      .     .     .     .159 
What  the  Customer  Ts  Wearing 
Visiting  Among  Salespeople 
Learning  to  Talk  About  Hats 
Trade  Papers  and  Home  Study 
Factory  Visiting 
The  Care  of  Stock 
Seating  the  Customer 
Careful  Selection  of  Stock 
Customers  Who  Are  "Just  Looking" 
Avoiding  Questions 
Judging  a  Customer  by  Her  Dress 
When  the  Customer  Leaves  Without  Buying 
Fitness  to  Meet  a  Customer 

XVII     HAT-MAKING  AT  HOME 169 

The  Economy  and  Pleasure  of  Making  Hats 
Obseryation  the  First  Essential 
Covering  the  Frame 
The  Trimming 


xviii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

The  Lining 
Colored  Hats 
Reblocking 
Magazine  Helps 

XVIII  CLASSIFICATION  OF  STOCK  OF  A  TYPICAL 

MILLINERY    DEPARTMENT 175 

APPENDIX 181 

Books  for  Reference 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


Chinese    Straw    Plaits Frontispiece 

«E      ...  0  FACING    PAGE 

1.  Braiding  Straw .12 

2.  Cutting  Hemp  by  Hand 24 

3.  Thirteen-Spool    Braiding    Machine 26 

4.  Weaving  a  Hat 32 

5.  Shipping   Straw   Braids 48 

6.  On    an    Ostrich    Farm 74 

7.  Diagram  Indicating  Primary  and  Secondary  Colors  With 

Their  Hues,  Tints,  and  Contrasts jig 

8.  A  Full  Face  Cannot  Wear  a  Turban  , 146 

9.  A  Full  Face  Looks  Well  in  a  Large-Brimmed  Hat  .     .  146 

10.  A  Snub-Nosed  Person  Should  Not  Wear  a  Turban     .     .  146 

11.  A  Person  with  Regular  Features  Can  Wear  a  Turban  .  146 

12.  A  Thin  Face  Looks  Well  in  a  Turban 148 

13.  A  Thin  Face  Cannot  Wear  a  Large-Brimmed  Hat  .     .  148 

14.  An  Older  Face  Needs  a  Hat  Soft  in  Material  and  Trim- 

mings     148 

15.  A  Youthful  Face  Can  Wear  a  Hat  with  Stiff,  Straight 

Lines  in  Shape  and  Trimming 148 

16.  It  Is  Inartistic  to  Hide  the  Eyebrows 150 

xix 


MILLINERY 


Chapter  I 

THE  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 
Plan  of  Department 

The  construction  and  plan  of  a  Millinery  Department 
bear  a  close  relation  to  the  volume  of  sales,  and  have 
a  vital  effect  upon  the  success  of  the  department  and 
of  each  salesperson  in  it.  It  is  because  certain  ar- 
rangements and  equipment  have  been  found  so  prac- 
tical and  helpful  in  the  selling  of  hats,  that  similarity 
prevails  among  the  millinery  sections  of  the  best  de- 
partment stores  of  the  country. 

General  Impression 

The  general  appearance  of  a  properly  planned  Mil- 
linery Department  produces  an  impression  of  roomi- 
ness. The  extended  floor  space  and  multitude  of  mir- 
rors enable  a  customer  to  view  a  hat  from  all  sides 

i 


2  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

and  from  all  distances,  just  as  she  would  view  it  on 
the  head  of  another  woman  on  the  street.  A  customer 
may  examine  many  hats,  make  comparisons,  and 
choose  the  one  that  suits  her  fancy.  Unobstructed 
space  suggests  out-of-doors,  where  the  hat  is  to  be 
worn,  and  therefore  is  apt  to  make  the  possession  of 
a  new  hat  seem -more  desirable;  also  customers  can  be 
served  more  easily  in  a  large  open  department. 

Atmosphere 

The  atmosphere  of  a  Millinery  Department  should 
always  be  one  of  dignified  elegance  and  refined  taste, 
in  keeping  with  the  character  of  the  goods  displayed. 
This  has  a  favorable  effect  upon  the  patronage  and 
sales.  A  background  of  quiet  refinement  is  created  by 
carefully  chosen  carpets  of  harmonious  design  and 
color,  and  beautiful  woodwork,  handsome  fixtures,  and 
proper  lighting. 

Stock  Tables 

In  the  Millinery  Department  of  most  large  stores 
large  tables  are  given  prominent  positions.  These 
tables  may  be  round,  oval,  square,  or  oblong;  the 
oblong  ones  are  perhaps  more  commonly  used.  Gen- 
erally hats  of  the  same  price  are  placed  on  a  table  by 
themselves  and  arranged  on  standards  of  varying 
heights. 


INTRODUCTORY  3 

The  untrimmed  shapes  are  heaped  upon  tables  that 
have  rails  around  the  edges.  There  are  so  many 
shapes  just  alike  that  one  wonders  why  some  are  not 
put  away  in  the  deep  drawers  underneath  these  tables ; 
but  the  heaping  together  of  such  a  number  of  shapes 
makes  the  price  appear  more  reasonable  to  the  cus- 
tomer. This  is  desirable,  because  in  untrimmed  hats 
particularly  it  is  their  cheapness  that  appeals.  The 
customer  knows  that  articles  cost  less  by  the  dozen 
and  she  is  apt  to  reason  that  if  she  sees  many  similar 
hats,  each  one  must  be  cheaper  than  if  the  design  were 
more  exclusive.  People  have  learned  to  expect  to  find 
bargains  displayed  in  this  way.  Moreover,  the  quan- 
tity, with  its  suggestion  of  freshness  and  variety  of 
choice,  produces  the  impression  of  an  abundance  of 
stock. 

A  desire  for  exclusiveness  and  for  a  hat  different 
from  anyone  else's  operates,  of  course,  against  the 
appeal  to  customers;  for  this  reason  untrimmed  hats 
that  can  be  diversified  by  trimming  according  to  the 
customer's  tastes  usually  sell  very  well  in  bargain  lots, 
whereas  hats  that  are  already  trimmed  are  not  so 
easily  sold  in  this  way. 

In  the  drawers  below  the  tables  are  the  reserve 
shapes.  Tables  for  trimmed  hats  may  or  may  not 
have  drawers  beneath  for  reserve  stock  and  hats  not 
on  display. 


4  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

In  specialty  shops  the  stock  is  generally  kept  in  cases 
and  deep  drawers. 

"Trying  on"  Tables 

Small  tables  with  chairs  and  hand  mirrors  are  placed 
before  large  mirrors  which  face  the  seated  customer 
at  well-chosen  points  among  the  stock  tables.  It  is 
better  to  have  the  large  mirrors  in  three  sections,  as 
the  customer  can  then  see  herself  from  all  angles. 
If  there  are  pillars  in  the  department,  they  can  be  made 
to  serve  as  supports  for  the  large  mirrors  and  small 
tables  may  also  be  placed  back  to  back.  It  is  one  of 
the  ways  of  making  a  customer  comfortable  and  so 
disposed  to  purchase. 

Display  Cases 

Around  the  sides  of  the  room,  hats  on  standards  of 
various  heights  are  displayed  in  large  electric-lighted 
cases  with  movable  glass  doors.  The  floor  of  these 
cases  is  about  table  height  with  large  mirrors  at  the 
back  and  with  deep  drawers  for  reserve  stock  under- 
neath. Often  only  one  drawer,  two  or  more  feet 
deep,  is  constructed,  instead  of  two  drawers  both  of 
which  might  be  too  shallow.  Hats  that  are  not  easily 
damaged  are  kept  there  in  piles  several  hats  deep. 

Most  departments  arrange  the  hats  so  that  those 
of  one  price  are  kept  together  in  one  case,  the  first 


INTRODUCTORY  5 

case  in  the  row  containing  the  cheapest  hats  and  so  on 
up;  or  if  there  are  many  hats  at  one  price  a  whole 
group  of  cases  may  be  devoted  to  them.  There  may 
be  a  case  filled  with  ornaments  which  are  too  large 
to  be  adequately  displayed  in  the  counter  cases.  When 
customers  are  not  numerous  the  glass  doors  are  kept 
closed  to  protect  the  contents  from  dust. 

Counter  Cases 

Counter  cases  with  tops  and  shelves  of  glass  are 
placed  in  some  convenient  section  near  the  untrimmed 
hats,  and  are  used  for  displaying  ornaments  and  trim- 
mings. Flowers,  wreaths,  feathers,  tips,  wings,  rib- 
bons, pins,  and  various  fancy  ornaments  are  thus  at- 
tractively shown.  Table  displays  of  ornaments  are 
not  unusual. 

Arrangement  of  Stock 

Although  the  arrangement  of  stock  on  tables  and  in 
cases  is  usually  by  price,  color  schemes  may  be  beau- 
tifully worked  out  by  featuring  some  popular  shade 
in  a  whole  group  of  hats.  A  few  stores  arrange  the 
stock  almost  entirely  by  color,  but  to  do  this  the  de- 
partment must  be  very  large.  While  the  main  ar- 
rangement is  planned  by  the  buyer  or  manager,  details 
are  generally  left  to  the  salespeople  who  can  do  a 
great  deal  to  make  the  display  effective. 


6  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

In  all  departments  there  are  certain  prominently 
located  tables,  cases,  and  counters  which  people  must 
pass  frequently  on  the  way  to  other  departments. 
Such  counters  may  be  made  extremely  useful  for  test- 
ing out  new  goods  or  novelties  to  see  whether  a 
demand  can  be  created;  they  may  also  be  used  to  ex- 
hibit slow-moving  merchandise  which  perhaps  the 
salespeople  have  neglected  to  bring  forward  because 
of  the  fact  that  they  have  become  too  accustomed 
to  it. 

"French  Rooms" 

A  number  of  small  separate  rooms  designed  to  aid 
in  the  sale  of  the  most  expensive  hats  are  generally 
found  opening  from  the  main  department.  They  are 
planned  to  help  the  sale  of  high-priced  hats  in  a  num- 
ber of  ways.  They  create  an  atmosphere  of  exclusive- 
ness  and  distinction.  The  quiet  seclusion  gives  the 
salesperson  an  advantage,  as  well  as  implying  a  special 
attention  to  the  customer. 

Salesrooms  of  this  nature  are  richly  furnished  and 
generally  are  decorated  in  light  colors,  so  as  to  afford 
a  more  delicate  background  for  the  exquisite  hats 
shown  in  them.  Since  it  is  desirable  to  give  every 
advantage  to  customers  and  salespeople  in  the  disposal 
of  hrgh-priced  merchandise,  the  "  special "  rooms  usu- 
ally have  daylight  for  selecting  and  matching  colors. 


INTRODUCTORY  7 

Such  a  room  is  quite  often  distinguished  by  some  spe- 
cial name,  such  as  the  'Trench  Room."  Dark  French 
rooms  are  sometimes  very  effective.  Customers  have 
said  that  in  such  rooms  any  hat  looked  becoming. 

Stock  and  Workrooms 

It  is  convenient  to  have  the  stock-room  and  work- 
room of  a  Millinery  Department  situated  as  near  the 
selling  floor  as  possible,  if  not  directly  adjoining  it. 
There  the  trimmers  work  at  large  tables  by  good  day- 
light, altering,  retrimming,  and  making  hats,  while 
full  supplies  of  hat  braids,  ribbons,  velvet,  etc.,  are  in 
drawers,  boxes,  or  on  shelves.  There  is  a  special 
checker,  who  gives  part  or  all  of  her  time  to  describing 
in  a  special  record  every  hat  that  goes  out  of  the  work- 
room. A  good  workroom  has  much  to  do  with  the 
satisfaction  of  customers  and  the  success  of  the  whole 
department. 


Chapter  II 
HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS 

Most  Important  Material 

Hats  are  made  from  many  materials,  of  which  true 
straw,  woven  into  braid,  is  the  most  important.  Until 
1840,  when  looms  were  first  adapted  to  straw-braiding, 
the  different  braids  were  made  entirely  by  hand,  but 
as  modern  industrial  methods  have  been  developed, 
more  and  more  of  the  braiding  is  done  by  machinery, 
and  only  those  countries  where  manual  labor  is  cheap 
continue  the  hand-braiding,  which  was  once  a  profit- 
able industry. 

Italian  Straw  Best 

Straw  braid  is  produced  in  many  countries,  but  the 
United  States  draws  chiefly  from  China,  Japan,  and 
Italy.  Wheat  and  rye  straw  for  hats  was  grown  in 
Massachusetts  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, but  the  industry  was  of  slight  importance. 

The  straw  from  the  different  countries  varies  in 
quality.  Probably  the  finest  is  grown  in  northern 
Italy,  where  the  industry  has  reached  its  highest  de- 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  9 

velopment.  The  superiority  of  the  Italian  straw  is 
due  to  climatic  and  soil  conditions  and  to  the  fact  that 
the  wheat  is  raised  largely  for  making  hats  and  not 
for  food,  whereas  in  China  wheat  is  raised  to  serve  for 
both  purposes.  The  method  of  sowing  and  cutting 
wheat  raised  for  straw  only,  differs  greatly  from  the 
method  used  when  the  grain  is  intended  for  food. 
The  latter  method  of  cultivation  produces  an  inferior 
grade  and  damages  the  straw  for  hat-making. 

Climate  and  Soil 

Even  in  Italy  only  certain  areas  are  suitable  in  soil 
and  climate  for  the  production  of  hat  straw.  The 
seeds  are  sown  very  thickly  on  rich,  light  soil,  on  arid 
and  rather  high  land.  The  stalks  are  very  long  and 
grow  so  thickly  that  they  touch,  thus  supporting  and 
protecting  one  another.  This  method  of  planting  pro- 
duces a  fine,  tall  straw.  If  the  weather  is  too  wet, 
the  straws  will  spot  and  rust,  while  if  the  climate  is 
very  dry  and  hot  the  straws  become  brittle.  Straws 
will  spot  also  when  too  ripe.  The  wheat  seed  is  usu- 
ally sown  in  March,  and  the  crop  is  cut  when  the 
grain  in  the  ear  is  only  half  developed. 

Gathering  and  Bleaching 

The  straw  is  pulled  up  by  the  roots  by  hand,  dried 
in  the  sun,  and  then  made  into  small  sheaves. 


10  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

It  must  be  pulled  by  hand  so  that  the  ends  of  the 
straw  may  be  kept  closed  throughout  the  process  of 
curing  and  bleaching  to  retain  the  pitch  which  would 
escape  if  the  crop  were  cut  with  a  scythe  or  by  machine 
power. 

Formerly,  and  even  now  to  some  extent,  the  bundles 
were  allowed  to  lie  in  the  sun  during  the  day  and  in 
the  dews  by  night,  until  after  several  days  the  straw 
became  cured  and  bleached,  but  it  is  now  generally 
cured  under  cover.  If  the  bleaching  is  not  done  by 
the  dew  and  sunshine  process,  the  straw  is  bleached  in 
sulphur  fumes  in  a  closed  chest  or  by  other  chemical 
processes. 

Sorting 

The  worker  takes  the  sheaf  of  wheat  between  his 
knees  and  draws  the  straw  out  by  handfuls.  The 
wheat  ears  are  cut  off  first ;  the  top  of  the  stalk  — 
which  is  called  a  pipe  because  it  is  hollow  —  is  then 
cut  away  so  that  only  the  lower  nine  inches  are  kept 
for  plaiting.  These  nine-inch  sections  are  sorted  into 
sizes  by  letting  them  fall  through  several  sieves  with 
holes  of  different  sizes,  or  through  openings  in  a  wire 
frame.  Those  which  are  discolored  or  spotted  *are 
separated  from  the  rest  and  must  be  dyed,  either  in  the 
pipe  or  in  the  plait.  Bundles  about  four  inches  in  di- 
ameter, containing  sixty  straws  each,  are  made,  tied, 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  II 

and  sold  for  five  or  six  lire  per  hundred  bundles.  (A 
lira  is  a  silver  coin  worth  about  eighteen  or  nineteen 
cents. ) 

Centers  of  the  Plaiting  Industry 

Tuscany  in  northern  Italy  has  been  the  center  of  the 
plaiting  industry  for  hundreds  of  years.  In  the  eight- 
eenth century  the  trade  was  very  extensive,  but  in  1826 
England  began  to  manufacture  her  own  braids  and  in 
1875  competition  began  with  Switzerland,  Japan,  and 
China.  Although  the  industry  in  Italy  has  declined  in 
relative  volume,  however,  the  Italian  braid  retains  its 
superiority. 

In  Florence  and  in  the  regions  surrounding  the  city 
more  than  90,000  people  make  their  living  plaiting 
straw.  In  some  villages  the  entire  population,  men, 
women  and  children,  are  employed.  With  flying 
fingers  they  work  even  while  they  walk  along  the 
street,  carrying  the  straw  wrapped  in  a  damp  cloth  to 
keep  it  pliable  and  inserting  new  straws  regularly 
without  looking  at  the  work. 

In  Italy,  as  in  every  country  where  hats  are  made, 
the  work  of  making  braids  is  carried  on  largely  in  the 
homes  o'f  the  people,  although  much  of  it  is  done  under 
the  direction  of  men  connected  With  large  companies. 
Throughout  the  whole  world,  it  may  be  noted,  straw 
plaiting  is  done  chiefly  by  women  and  children,  al- 


12  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

though  it  is  occasionally  done  by  men,  and  men  do  the 
rougher  work  of  gathering  the  raw  material. 

Method  of  Plaiting 

The  plaiter  splits  each  pipe  of  straw  into  from  four 
to  nine  pieces,  except  the  straw  for  Tuscan  braid 
which  is  woven  whole.  A  small  instrument  called  a 
"  splitter  "  with  a  sharp  point  to  go  into  the  end  of 
the  straw  and  with  knife-edge  cutters  radiating  from 
it,  is  inserted  at  one  end  of  the  straw  pipe.  These 
cutters  divide  the  pipe  into  even  pieces. 

The  plaiter  begins  her  braid  with  the  required  num- 
ber of  straws,  which  are  not,  however,  of  equal  length. 
When  she  approaches  the  end  of  the  shortest  straw  she 
inserts  another  single  straw  and  continues  to  add  new 
straws  as  they  are  needed.  This  leaves  a  fringe  on 
the  inside  of  the  plait  which  is  later  cut  away  by  scis- 
sors. The  straw  is  held  under  the  left  arm  of  the 
plaiter  and  each  straw  is  passed  between  the  lips  to 
moisten  it  before  it  is  inserted,  unless  there  is  some 
other  method  of  keeping  it  damp,  as  for  instance  wrap- 
ping it  in  a  moist  cloth.  Each  plaiter  who  uses  the 
first  method  carries  two  or  three  straws  in  her  mouth, 
ready  for  use.  Seven  is  the  average  number  of  straws 
used,  although  the  number  ranges  from  four  to  four- 
teen. The  varieties  of  plait  are  endless.  Florentine 
dealers  have  exhibited  more  than  7,000  different  pat- 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  13 

terns.     An  old  couplet  describes  the  method  of  weav- 
ing: 

"  Over  one  and  under  two, 
Pull  it  tight  and  that  will  do." 

The  plaiters  get  wretchedly  small  pay  for  this  ex- 
pert work  from  the  middlemen  to  whom  they  usually 
sell  their  product.  By  working  all  day  a  woman  can 
plait  perhaps  twenty  yards  of  seven-end  braid,  which 
can  be  bought  in  the  United  States  at  less  than  a  cent 
a  yard,  after  middlemen  and  transportation  charges 
are  all  paid. 

Figure  i  shows  natives  engaged  in  braiding  straw. 


Chapter  III 

HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS 
(Continued) 

Varieties 

There  are  many  varieties  of  straw  braid  and  the 
number  seems  to  be  increasing  every  year.  Some 
braids  have  been  made  by  hand  in  the  present  weave 
for  many  centuries.  Others  are  the  product  of  ma- 
chines. 

Straw  braids  are  classed  as: 

Hand-made  Machine-made 

Tuscan  Chip 

Leghorn  Yedda 

Milan  Ramie 

Patent  Milan  Horsehair 

Japan  Split  Horsehair  Imitation 

China  Split  Crepe  Band 

Lisere  Pyroxylin 

Swiss  Straw  Chrysanthemum  Braid 

Hemp  Specialties : 
Milan  Hemp  Visca 

Imitation  Hemp  Caterpillar,  etc. 

14 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  15 

Tuscan  Braid 

Tuscan  plaits  and  Leghorn  hats  are  made  from 
Tuscan  straw  which  varies  greatly  in  quality  and  value. 
The  Tuscan  braid  lends  itself  to  fancy  weaves  with 
much  grace,  and  pretty  "  lace  Tuscan  "  hats  are  fre- 
quently seen. 

The  braid  is  used  in  wide  fancy  borders  or  in  a  hat 
apparently  woven  in  one  piece  by  hand.  A  strong 
twist  of  two  straws  may  be  made  and  used  as  a  single 
strand.  Several  lace  Tuscan  hats  in  various  colors 
were  recently  shown,  resembling  in  pattern  the  Batten- 
berg  lace  which  was  popular  a  number  of  years  ago 
as  "  fancy  work/' 

The  Tuscan  is  a  strong,  durable  braid,  naturally  of 
a  rich  cream  color,  tending  to  a  tan  yellow.  The 
straw,  which  is  very  fine,  is  seldom  split  as  other  straws 
are,  but  is  used  whole.  Other  straws,  such  as  the 
Panama  type,  which  sometimes  give  this  same  effect, 
are  split  straws  specially  prepared.  (See  Chapter  IV 
for  information  on  Panama  hats.) 

The  upper  part  of  the  stalk  is  yellow  at  first.  In 
addition  to  the  bleaching  of  the  raw  straw  by  the  sun, 
several  smokings  with  sulphur  are  given  to  the  straw, 
the  plait,  and  lastly  to  the  hat  to  whiten  it.  The  lower 
part  of  the  straw  which  was  covered  by  the  slender 
leaf  is  not  quite  so  yellow,  but  the  darker  part  is 
known  as  the  Tuscan. 


i6  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Florence  Tuscan  Braid 

A  flat,  narrow,  plain  braid  known  in  the  United 
States  as  Florence  Tuscan  is  made  of  seven,  eleven, 
thirteen,  or  even  more  straws.  It  is  woven  with  quick 
jerks  of  the  hand,  and  is  either  sewed  together  by 
hand  at  the  edges  or  sewed  by  machine  with  the  edges 
lapping  over  each  other,  the  number  of  rows  or 
laps  to  the  inch  indicating  the  fineness  of  the 
braid. 

As  Tuscan  plaits  tend  to  a  yellow  color  in  spite  of 
the  bleaching,  it  is  very  important  for  the  weaver  to 
choose  straws  of  the  same  shade  and  blend  the  plaits 
carefully.  The  finest  work  on  this  straw  braid,  ac- 
cordingly, tries  the  eyes  severely,  so  that  the  plaiter 
can  work  at  it  only  two  or  three  hours  a  day.  These 
very  fine  plaits,  of  course,  are  uncommon.  Florence 
Tuscan  is  usually  imported  in  plaits,  and  sewed  into 
hats  in  this  country. 

Leghorn  Hats 

Leghorn  hats,  so  called  because  they  were  exported 
from  Leghorn,  a  port  in  Tuscany,  were  invented  about 
1840.  There  is  a  standard  demand  for  these  at- 
tractive and  durable  hats.  They  are  naturally  of  a 
yellow  or  cream  color.  The  close,  strong  weave  and 
the  quality  of  the  straw  give  the  hat  strength  and  stiff- 
ness, yet  allow  it  to  bend  slightly  in  a  wind.  This  is 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  17 

an  excellent  feature  in  a  shade  hat,  the  common  style 
of  the  Leghorn. 

Leghorn  hats  are  made  in  the  region  around  Flor- 
ence, usually  of  Tuscan  straw,  from  braids  known  as 
"  paglia,"  "  florentina,"  or  "  nostrale."  These  braids 
are  generally  of  thirteen  strands  but  sometimes  of  five 
or  of  seven.  Pedal  Leghorn  is  an  inferior  grade.  A 
very  cheap,  smooth,  extremely  coarse  hat  is  called 
"  Mountain  Leghorn." 

Plaiting  Leghorn 

Women  and  children  may  be  seen  on  the  streets  of 
the  Italian  villages  plaiting  braid  for  these  hats. 
After  a  few  yards  are  made  the  braid  is  sewn  together 
into  the  hat  shape  or  made  into  placques  and  cones 
which  are  afterwards  blocked  into  the  shapes  desired. 
A  coarse,  twisted  cotton  thread  is  used,  which  is  not 
visible  in  the  finished  hat  as  the  edges  are  fitted  to- 
gether so  that  the  hat  appears  to  be  woven  in  one 
piece.  In  examining  a  Leghorn  the  places  where  the 
threads  run  can  be  detected  by  a  slight  ridge  in  the 
upper  surface  of  the  hat.  The  thread  is  pulled  tight 
so  that  the  edges  of  the  braids  interlock  firmly.  The 
little  humps  along  the  edges  which  fit  so  closely  are 
called  the  "  eyes  "  of  the  braid.  On  the  under  side 
of  the  Leghorn  the  regularity  with  which  new  straws 
were  inserted  in  the  braid  may  also  be  observed. 


1 8  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Milan  Braid 

Milan  braid  of  good  quality  makes  a  beautiful  and 
durable  article  which  is  usually  popular  as  a  spring 
hat  in  dark  colors  and  as  a  summer  hat  in  creamy 
white.  The  hat  has  an  attractive  gloss  and  while 
somewhat  flexible  has  considerable  stiffness.  Hand- 
some hats  of  Milan  braid  are  sometimes  made  double 
with  different  colored  brims  sewn  together.  The  hat 
is  called  Milan  after  the  city  of  Italy  near  which  most 
of  these  braids  are  produced. 

Milan  or  pedal  braid,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  is 
made  of  seven  strands,  but  a  coarser  braid  of  the  same 
straw  is  five-end  or  five-strand  Milan. 

The  straw  used  is  coarse,  although  of  excellent 
quality.  It  is  called  pedal  straw,  and  is  used  in  many 
fancy  plaits  besides  in  Milan  braid.  One  authority 
says  that  the  lower  (and  therefore  coarser)  part  of 
the  upper  joint  of  the  straw  is  the  pedal  straw,  while 
the  upper  part  is  the  Tuscan.  Its  treatment  is  similar 
to  that  of  other  straw. 

The  best  Milan  is  hand-blocked  and  hand-sewed, 
but  in  the  United  States  much  of  it  is  sewed  on  lock 
stitch  power  sewing-machines  because  this  method  is 
cheaper.  The  hats  are  sized  when  they  are  blocked. 

Patent  Milan 
An  imitation  of  a  much  coarser  nature,  called  patent 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  19 

Milan,  is  grown  and  plaited  in  China.  It  is  freely 
used  in  cheap  hats.  Even  the  coarsest  Italian  Milan 
is  of  a  better  grade  than  the  finest  quality  made  in 
China. 

Split  Straw 

Split  straw  is  the  straw  obtained  by  the  splitting 
process  already  described.  Two  split  straws  are  laid 
together,  the  bright  sides  out,  and  plaited  in  the  usual 
way.  English  seven-end  or  "  cord  "  is  made  in  this 
way. 

Many  hats  of  "  split  Jap  "  braid  are  manufactured 
in  Japan  and  many  others  are  made  up  in  the  United 
States  from  imported  braid.  Much  seven-end  split 
braid  is  made  in  China  where  the  straws  are  woven 
singly.  In  a  hat  of  Chinese  split  straw  the  shiny  and 
dull  sides  of  the  straw  may  easily  be  seen  if  they  are 
closely  examined. 

Lisere 

The  word  lisere  is  from  a  French  word  meaning 
binding,  and  this  true  straw  braid  is  often  called  a 
binding  braid.  It  is  a  very  shiny,  stiff,  narrow  braid, 
made  generally  from  split  straw,  but  sometimes  from 
whole  straw,  and  imported  from  Switzerland,  Bel- 
gium, China,  and  Japan.  A  three-end  lisere  from 
Japan  is  used  extensively. 


20  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Oriental  Braids 

Straw  braid  manufacture  has  developed  rapidly  in 
China  in  recent  years,  especially  in  the  Province  of 
Shantung  in  northern  China.  The  chief  port  of  trade 
is  Tsing-tau.  Wheat  straw  is  used,  but  is  less  care- 
fully prepared  than  in  Italy.  Barley  and  rice  straw 
also  are  utilized. 

The  rice  of  Japan  yields  a  stronger  fiber  than  the 
rice  grown  in  the  United  States,  but  it  is  not  equal  to 
wheat  straw  for  hat-making  purposes. 

Braid-Making  in  China 

Braid-making  in  China  is  done  by  the  natives  in 
their  homes,  under  the  direction  of  agents  of  large 
exporting  houses.  It  is  this  labor  that  has  discour- 
aged the  industry  in  other  countries,  for  the  people 
can  live  so  cheaply  that  they  can  afford  to  work  for 
little.  Most  of  the  plaiting  is  done  in  the  interior  of 
the  country  and  must  be  taken  overland  for  hundreds 
of  miles  to  the  seaports,  where  it  is  tied  up  into  pieces, 
sorted,  and  baled,  240  pieces  to  the  bale.  One  woman 
has  to  work  at  least  two  years  to  make  enough  plait 
for  a  bale,  which  can  be  bought  in  the  United  States 
after  all  transportation  charges,  middlemen,  etc.,  are 
paid,  at  prices  varying  from  $20  to  $40  a  bale.  This 
makes  the  average  wage  a  few  cents  a  day.  Much 
braid  is  sent  to  England  for  bleaching  and  manufac- 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  21 

ture  and  later  reaches  the  United  States.     Luton  is  the 
center  of  the  straw-bleaching  industry  in  England. 

Chinese  Straw 

Because  the  Chinese  wheat  is  allowed  to  grow  till  it 
is  fully  ripe  the  straw  is  brittle,  but  nevertheless  it  is 
used  for  braiding.  Two  feet  of  stem  between  the 
joints  in  the  middle  of  the  stalk  is  cut  into  lengths. 
The  resulting  straws  are  four  or  five  inches  long. 
These  are  split  into  from  two  to  seven  pieces.  They 
are  moistened  to  make  them  pliable,  and  woven  into 
braid  one-eighth  to  one-half  inch  wide  in  odd  lengths 
of  from  thirty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards.  The 
Chinese  bleach  this  braid  with  sulphur  fumes.  They 
are  clever  in  all  imitations  and  are  more  skilful  than 
any  other  nation  in  their  methods  of  doing  up  braids 
and  hats  in  packages. 

The  frontispiece  shows  several  varieties  of  Chinese 
straw  plaits. 

Swiss  Straw 

The  straw  for  Swiss  braids  is  imported  from  Italy 
and  most  of  it  is  made  into  men's  hats.  The  best 
market  for  Swiss  straw  goods  is  France,  where  the 
braids  are  manufactured  into  hats. 

Swiss  Milan  hemp  and  plain  hemp  are  today  as  fine 
as  any  in  quality.  Also  the  best  broad  braids,  known 
principally  as  silk  straw,  are  manufactured  there. 


22  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

The  industry  is  old.  The  peasants  of  the  Canton 
of  Aargau  who  carry  it  on  have  inherited  their  skill 
for  generations.  Before  artificial  silk  and  pyroxylin 
were  invented,  all  fine  silk  straw  braids  came  from 
Switzerland.  This  country  finds  the  competition  of 
Italy  and  Japan  hard  to  meet  and  is  able  to  hold  its 
foreign  trade  in  this  line,  not  so  much  by  the  produc- 
tion of  staple  goods,  as  by  specialties  and  fancy  braids 
for  women's  hats. 

Most  of  the  best  grades  are  made  in  the  homes  of 
the  people,  but  the  hand-work  is  limited  to  real  straw ; 
artificial  or  imitation  braids  are  made  in  the  factories. 

Hemp 

Hemp  is  not  a  true  straw  but  like  many  other  fibers 
it  is  classed  as  a  straw  braid.  There  are  several  varie- 
ties of  hemp,  and  the  plant  that  yields  the  fiber  for 
hat-making  must  not  be  confused  with  the  other  and 
coarser  sorts,  such  as  the  Sisal  hemp,  from  which  only 
ropes  and  cordage  are  made. 

Manila  hemp,  a  species  of  banana,  from  the  finest 
fiber  of  which  the  most  delicate  laces,  slippers,  and 
other  articles  can  be  made,  is  the  source  of  the  ma- 
terial for  hats;  it  is  found  growing  naturally  in  only 
one  place,  the  Philippines.  Another  name  used  in 
those  islands  for  Manila  hemp  is  "  abaca."  In  the 
trade  abaca  braids  are  usually  known  as  "  tagal 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  23 

braids  "  or  "  tagals."  These  are  the  only  hat  braids 
exported  in  quantity  from  the  Philippines.  Most  hats 
made  by  the  islanders  are  made  in  one  piece. 

Hemp  Hats 

Hemp  hats  have  been  very  popular  and  the  probabil- 
ity that  they  will  remain  in  favor  is  great,  therefore  it 
is  well  to  consider  them  in  detail.  Some  of  the  rea- 
sons for  their  popularity  are : 

1.  The  ease  with  which  the  fiber  dyes  and  retains 

the  dye. 

2.  The  delicate  colors  obtained  in  dyeing. 

3.  Strength  and  durability. 

4.  Resistance  to  moisture. 

5.  Light  weight. 

6.  Natural  stiffness  together  with  pliability. 

7.  Attractive  gloss. 

Hemp- Weaving  Industry 

In  the  Philippines  the  industry  of  hemp-weaving 
existed  before  the  occupation  by  Spain  in  the  six- 
teenth century.  In  many  regions  the  plant  grew  wild. 
The  sides  of  hills  of  volcanic  origin  are  well  suited  to 
its  growth,  and  fertile,  well-drained  soil,  damp  air, 
and  protection  from  too  much  sun  and  wind  are  nec- 
essary. 

Abaca  is  cut  near  to  the  roots  before  flowering  (see 


24  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Figure  2),  the  leaves  and  stalks  are  split  open  length- 
wise, and  the  strips  obtained  from  them  dried  in  the 
shade  for  several  days.  The  fiber  is  taken  in  strips 
from  the  petiole,  or  stalk  of  the  leaf  of  the  plant. 
A  large  knife  is  used  to  separate  pulp  and  water  from 
the  strips,  the  strip  being  pulled  between  the  knife 
blade  and  a  block  of  wood.  It  is  important  to  remove 
all  of  the  pulp,  for  if  any  remains  it  darkens  the  fiber. 
The  hard  outer  fiber  is  used  for  cordage  and  the  inner 
for  hat  braid.  Two  men  can  cut  and  scrape  about 
twenty-five  pounds  of  fiber  in  a  day. 

The  different  grades  of  abaca  are  carefully  sorted 
into  five  or  six  classes.  Fibers  of  the  same  quality  are 
tied  together  by  the  rapid  fingers  of  the  weaver  in  a 
long  strand  with  firm,  small  knots.  No  tying  machine 
can  make  so  good  a  knot.  If  parts  of  the  fiber  are  too 
fine,  a  piece  may  be  doubled  and  tied.  Tying  becomes 
automatic  so  that  an  expert  tyer  can  almost  tie  in  the 
dark.  The  women's  income  from  this  work  is  often  in 
addition  to  their  agricultural  work,  so  that  their  pros- 
perity is  great  when  compared,  for  example,  with  that 
of  the  Chinese.  Hanks  or  skeins  of  Manila  hemp  are 
exported  in  this  knotted  form  for  manufacture  into 
various  articles. 

Before  Japan  gained  first  place  by  inventing  cheap 
machinery  for  braiding,  Switzerland,  France,  and 
Italy  imported  knotted  hemp  in  large  quantities.  The 


Courtesy  of  U.   S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture 
Figure  2.     Cutting  Hemp  by  Hand 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  2$ 

finest  grades  come  from  Italy.  A  great  deal  of  fiber 
is  sent  loose  from  the  Philippines  to  Japan  to  be  manu- 
factured; that  is,  sorted,  tied,  and  woven  into  braid 
largely  by  machinery. 

Philippine  Factories 

Several  factories  have  been  started  in  the  Philip- 
pines. Machines  make  braids  of  various  widths, 
though  usually  of  thirteen  strands  with  two  or  three 
fibers  to  a  strand.  (See  Figure  3.)  Since  there  is 
no  import  duty  from  the  Philippines  to  the  United 
States  and  the  duty  averages  fifteen  per  cent  else- 
where, the  trade  between  the  islands  and  the  United 
States  tends  to  increase. 

In  1910  machinery  for  making  braid  was  intro- 
duced, but  most  hats  are  still  made  by  hand.  The 
Bureau  of  Education  is  promoting  this  industry  in 
the  schools  and  in  communities;  and  this  helps  the 
people  greatly  since  it  enables  them  to  spend  their  time 
to  greater  advantage  and  at  the  same  time  earn  more 
money. 

Milan  Hemp 

A  very  popular  braid  is  known  as  Milan  hemp. 
This  is  simply  a  hemp  braid  in  the  Milan  weave  of 
seven  ends.  Large  quantities  of  both  Milan  hemp 
and  plain  hemp  braid  are  exported  from  Japan,  Italy, 


26  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

and  Switzerland,  the  latter  producing  the  best.  The 
dyeing  is  better  in  the  Swiss  straw;  the  Japanese  are 
not  able  to  obtain  so  clear  a  color. 

Imitation.  Hemp 

A  German  imitation  of  hemp  is  made  of  cotton 
tape.  It  is  extremely  cheap,  but  is  too  heavy  for  a 
comfortable  straw  hat  and  is  not  very  satisfactory. 

Machine-Made  Braids 

In  1840  looms  were  adapted  to  straw- weaving  and 
for  the  first  time  braid  was  woven  by  machinery. 
Machine-made  braids  are  rapidly  increasing  in  num- 
ber and  seem  destined  to  supplant  hand-woven  braids 
almost  entirely.  Factories  in  every  country  demon- 
strate this  fact.  There  are  a  number  of  large  concerns 
operating  in  the  United  States,  and  the  varieties  of 
machinery  and  materials  used  are  endless.  One  large 
factory  in  Philadelphia  employs  almost  every  kind  of 
machinery  used  in  textile  branches,  weaving,  spinning, 
braiding,  knitting,  embroidery,  etc.  It  utilizes  many 
kinds  of  materials,  all  kinds  and  sizes  of  cotton  fiber 
—  soft,  glazed,  and  mercerized  —  various  kinds  of 
wool  and  mohair,  silk  of  different  grades,  artificial  silk, 
pyroxylin,  tuscan  cord,  hemp,  ramie,  art  luster,  etc. 

It  is  difficult  to  classify  all  braids  as  either  hand-  or 
machine-made,  since  so  many  straws  and  fibers  are 


Courtesy   of   "The   Philippine   Craftsman' 

Figure  3.    Thirteen-Spool  Braiding  Machine 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  27 

made  up  in  both  ways.  The  following  is  a  description 
of  some  of  the  more  important  machine-made  braids. 
Few  of  the  fibers  mentioned,  however,  are  found  in 
hand-made  braids. 

Chip 

Chip  braid  is  the  only  wood  braid  in  general  use. 
A  large  number  of  willow  chip  hats  are  made  in  north- 
ern Italy  in  the  Modena  province.  The  willows  used 
there  grow  in  the  valley  of  the  Po  River.  The  Jap- 
anese have  been  making  this  braid,  the  chip  straw  from 
the  trees  of  Japan  being  very  white.  White  pine  and 
Lombardy  poplar,  and  also  the  English  willow  and 
English  native  poplar,  are  used  to  make  white  chip 
hats.  In  Switzerland  wood-chip  and  silk  are  braided 
together.  Chip  is  made  in  three-,  five-,  and  seven- 
end  braids. 

The  young  tree  is  split  into  sections  and  planed 
smooth.  Another  special  plane  of  knife  blades  is  then 
drawn  lengthwise  clown  the  boards,  scoring  long,  fine, 
narrow  nits,  but  without  removing  any  of  the  ma- 
terial. A  smooth  plane  takes  these  fine  strips  off,  and 
a  thin  chip  straw  results.  Sometimes  the  wood  is 
pounded  and  beaten  in  the  process.  For  bleaching, 
the  material  is  washed  in  acids  and  in  alkalies. 

The  chip  hat  is  light  in  weight,  smooth,  inexpensive, 
and  has  a  soft,  dull  finish.  Bending  is  apt  tq  damage 


28  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

it,  and  in  general  it  is  more  easily  destroyed  than  some 
other  hats.  In  recent  years  hemp  has  largely  taken 
the  place  of  the  finest  chip  hats,  so  that  only  the 
cheaper  grades  are  generally  sold  now.  In  the 
eighties  chip  hats  were  very  fashionable  for  summer 
wear. 

Yedda 

Yedda  braid  was  first  produced  in  Italy,  but  the 
Japanese  have  made  an  imitation  which,  while  inferior 
to  the  Italian  article,  is  so  much  cheaper  that  the  Jap- 
anese handle  the  greater  part  of  the  trade.  Yedda  is 
a  tall  grass  grown  in  Italy,  Japan,  and  the  Philippines, 
and  from  its  fiber  a  light,  delicate  hat,  with  a  coarse, 
loose  weave  is  made.  Most  yedda  braid  is  woven  by 
machinery,  but  some  of  the  fancy  yeddas  are  woven 
by  hand. 

Ramie 

A  number  of  braids,  usually  loose  and  coarse,  are 
made  from  the  fiber  of  the  ramie,  a  kind  of  non- 
stinging  nettle  which  somewhat  resembles  flax.  The 
fiber  is  bleached,  dyed,  and  woven  by  machinery.  It  is 
called  "  China  grass  "  because  it  was  originally  woven 
in  China,  but  now  it  is  obtained  from  China,  Japan, 
the  Philippines,  Egypt,  the  West  and  East  Indies,  and 
southern  countries.  The  best  is  grown  near  the  equa- 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  29 

tor,  in  a  hot,  moist  climate  and  rich,  damp  soil,  as 
frost  kills  the  roots.  It  is  manufactured  chiefly  in  Ger- 
many, France,  England,  Switzerland,  and  the  United 
States. 

Ramie  fiber,  which  is  obtained  from  the  upright 
stem,  is  long,  glossy,  silky,  and  very  strong;  it  is 
stronger  than  hemp,  has  more  stiffness  than  flax,  and 
is  almost  as  glossy  as  silk.  Beautiful,  fine  cloth  has 
long  been  made  from  it,  especially  in  China,  but  the 
process  of  separating  the  fibers  from  the  stem  is  dif- 
ferent when  it  is  to  be  used  for  braid. 

The  fibers  are  removed  from  the  stems  by  hand  or 
by  machinery.  Either  process  is  costly  if  done  prop- 
erly because  of  the  difficulty  of  separating  the  fibers, 
and  of  getting  rid  of  the  gummy  substance  which 
holds  them  together.  The  degumming  process  con- 
sists of  boiling  the  strips  of  ramie  in  diluted  soda,  then 
bleaching  them  with  a  powder,  and  washing  them  in 
diluted  acid.  The  best  part  of  the  carded  and  combed 
fiber,  called  in  the  factory  the  "  combed  tops,"  about 
four  feet  in  length,  is  drawn  out  by  drawing  frames 
into  a  fine  sliver  or  cord,  put  through  a  bath  to  make 
the  fibers  adhere  together,  and  then  treated  to  preserve 
the  gloss.  After  this  the  fibers  are  twisted  or  made 
into  braid. 

Ramie  is  very  durable  and  is  not  affected  by  water 
or  moisture.  It  could  be  grown  in  the  southern  part 


30  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

of  the  United  States  but  the  cost  is  too  great  to  make 
the  industry  profitable.  The  ordinary  nettle  is  some- 
times used  as  a  substitute  for  ramie. 

Horsehair 

Hair  from  the  manes  and  tails  of  horses  is  made 
into  braids  in  a  number  of  countries,  but  perhaps  the 
best  are  manufactured  in  Switzerland,  largely  by  ma- 
chinery. The  best  horsehair  is  obtained  in  South 
America.  Horsehair  also  comes  from  Siberia,  China, 
and  Australia. 

In  one  form  this  braid  is  stiff,  light,  glossy,  and 
resembles  open  lace-work.  It  is  used  especially  in 
dressy  hats  and  in  those  made  partly  of  other  ma- 
terials. It  is  also  woven  in  a  plain  close  style  some- 
what resembling  hemp,  but  it  may  be  easily  distin- 
guished by  the  sharp  little  ends  of  hair  which  are  felt 
when  the  hand  is  passed  over  the  hat. 

Pyroxylin 

The  popularity  of  horsehair  braid  led  to  its  imita- 
tion in  an  artificial  silk  product,  known  as  pyroxylin 
(see  manuals  for  the  "Silk  Department"  and  the 
"  Notion  Department "). 

Pyroxylin  has  been  manufactured  successfully  for 
only  a  few  years  and  experiments  are  still  being  made 
for  improving  the  fiber.  When  the  process  first  began 


HAT  STRAW  AND  STRAW  BRAIDS  '3! 

to  be  used  the  fiber  melted  if  it  became  wet;  even  now 
it  breaks  easily  when  damp. 

It  is  easy  to  tell  the  difference  between  this  fiber 
and  horsehair,  for  the  imitation  is  not  quite  so  stiff, 
nor  so  perfectly  rounded  as  hair,  which  perhaps  causes 
the  slight  difference  in  the  gloss.  Both  are  light  and 
flexible,  but  pyroxylin  is  not  so  elastic  when  bent  and  re- 
leased as  the  horsehair  is.  Another  way  of  testing  is 
to  burn  a  small  quantity  of  each  braid.  Burning  hair 
has  a  characteristic  odor,  which  pyroxylin  does  not 
have. 

The  artificial  fiber  can  be  made  up  into  various 
forms,  from  an  imitation  of  light  horsehair  braid  to  a 
heavy  straw.  Every  large  manufacturing  country  is 
paying  some  attention  to  this  product. 

Chrysanthemum  Braid 

One  of  the  many  novelty  braids  made  of  artificial 
silk  is  chrysanthemum  braid.  Strong  cotton  thread 
stitching  holds  in  place  the  stiff,  glossy  silk  fibers 
which  somewhat  resemble  tiny  chrysanthemum  petals. 
It  is  soft,  light,  and  attractive,  but  not  especially 
durable. 


Chapter  IV 

STRAW  HAT-MAKING 

Hand-Made  Hats 

Until  the  last  few  centuries  or  until  hat-making 
machinery  was  invented,  all  straw  hats  and  braids  were 
made  by  hand.  Today  they  are  made  by  hand  only 
where  labor  is  cheap,  as  in  Japan,  China,  Italy,  the 
Philippines,  and  Central  and  South  America.  The 
best  examples  come  from  Panama  and  the  surrounding 
country,  and  from  Japan,  China,  and  the  Philippines. 
The  word  '*  straw  "  is  used  here  in  its  broadest  mean- 
ing, as  most  people  use  it  to  include  all  hats  made  of 
straw,  chip,  grasses,  palms,  etc.  Hats  made  in  one 
piece  are  called  "  body  "  hats. 

Body  hats  are  made  entirely  by  hand.  They  are 
easily  recognized,  for  a  machine  will  plait  only  a 
straight  braid  and  cannot  weave  circularly  from  the 
apex  of  the  crown  to  the  edge  of  the  brim. 

Figure  4  shows  natives  weaving  hats  by  hand. 

Panama  Hats 

The  Panama  hat  is  deservedly  popular.  It  never 
goes  entirely  out  of  style.  Its  strength,  lightness,  flex- 

32 


STRAW  HAT-MAKING  33 

ibility,  clear  cream- white  color,  and  comfortable  fit 
recommend  it  highly  to  customers.  It  can  stand  very 
hard  wear,  though  it  needs  the  same  care  as  any  other 
vegetable  fiber.  Usually  the  trimming  is  simple,  a 
ribbon  or  scarf  making  it  appropriate  for  wear  as  a 
sport  hat. 

Panama  hats  may  be  classified  as  genuine,  and  imita- 
tion: 

Genuine  Panama 
Japanese  Imitations 

Adamba 

Toyo 

Formosa 

Location  of  Industry 

While  few  Panama  hats  are  made  in  Panama,  it  is  a 
distributing  center  for  them,  which  accounts  for  the 
name.  Central  and  South  American  countries  produce 
many,  especially  Colombia,  Venezuela,  and  Guiana. 
The  high-grade  hats  come  largely  from  Ecuador  and 
Peru.  There  has  been  a  great  increase  in  their  use  in 
late  years.  For  centuries  the  industry  was  carried  on 
by  the  Indians  of  Central  America.  Now  it  is  the 
chief  occupation  of  remote  settlements. 

In  the  countries  where  it  is  made  the  Panama  hat 
is  called  jipi-japa,  the  name  of  a  city  concerned  in  the 
trade. 


34  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Gathering  the  Raw  Material 

The  natives  gather  the  leaves  of  the  Panama  hat 
palm,  which  is  a  screw  palm  growing  wild  in  large 
quantities  on  low-lying  wet  land.  Only  the  young, 
tender,  unspread  fan-shaped  leaves  are  used.  Care  is 
taken  not  to  injure  the  growing  center  of  the  palm, 
from  which  other  crops  may  be  obtained. 

When  the  young,  stiff,  perfect  leaves  are  secured, 
they  are  dampened,  split  into  shreds  with  the  fingers, 
or  rarely  with  instruments,  and  the  veins  and  the  ribs 
of  the  plant  are  removed.  The  strips  are  not  fully 
separated  but  are  left  at  the  base  of  the  leaf.  These 
shredded  leaves  are  called  "  cogollo  "  in  the  trade. 

Toughening  and  Bleaching 

Large  earthenware  jars  about  four  feet  deep  are 
filled  with  water,  to  which  the  juice  of  five  or  six 
lemons  is  added.  In  these  jars  the  leaves  are  soaked 
from  six  to  ten  days.  This  makes  them  pliable  and  re- 
moves the  sap  and  resin.  Sometimes  the  leaves  are 
steeped  in  boiling  water.  They  are  then  bleached  in 
the  sun  for  three  or  four  days,  or  until  they  become  a 
cream  white.  Panama  hats  which  are  bleached  by 
this  natural  method  —  the  best  one  —  are  never  of  a 
pure  or  dead  white.  The  sorted  strips  are  then  made 
up  and  sold  in  bunches  weighing  two  pounds. 


STRAW  HAT-MAKING  35 

Plaiting  by  the  Natives 

The  hats  are  made  in  the  villages  by  families  or  by 
groups  of  acquaintances  who  gather  for  the  purpose. 
There  are  all  grades  of  skill.  The  children  use  the 
poorer  straw  and  each  child  can  make  two  of  the 
coarser  hats  in  one  day.  A  few  of  the  adults  who 
have  gained  a  reputation  as  the  most  expert  weavers  of 
the  village  make  the  very  fine  hats  that  require  several 
months  of  labor  and  great  skill.  These  were  for- 
merly sold  in  Europe  or  in  South  America  for  about 
$150.  A  hat  of  this  kind  can  be  folded  into  the  size 
of  a  watch-case.  Most  of  the  hats  which  are  sold  in 
America  for  $5  to  $10  take  two  or  three  days  in  mak- 
ing. 

Process  of  Making 

A  wooden  block  of  the  required  shape  is  placed  be- 
tween or  on  the  knees  of  the  worker.  The  plaiting 
starts  from  the  top  of  the  crown,  going  around  in  cir- 
cular form.  There  are  a  number  of  different  methods 
of  weaving.  The  weavers'  sense  of  touch  is  very  deli- 
cate and  their  sight  is  good.  They  are  careful  not  to 
break  the  strands,  and  must  have  great  patience. 
Moisture  keeps  the  material  flexible,  therefore  the  part 
of  the  hat  that  is  being  worked  upon  is  kept  wet. 
Only  rarely  the  hat  is  woven  under  water,  as  has  some- 
times been  said.  The  plaiter  of  the  Panama  hat  works 


36  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

from  five  to  seven  hours  a  day,  in  the  morning  and 
evening  or  at  night,  when  the  atmosphere  is  moist.  If 
the  hat  is  woven  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  when  it  is 
hot  and  dry,  the  straw  becomes  brittle  and  breaks 
easily;  the  result  is  an  inferior  hat.  The  rainy  season 
is  the  best  for  weaving. 

Finishing 

After  a  hat  has  been  woven  in  a  single  piece  and 
the  edge  finished,  it  is  washed  and  again  put  on  the 
block,  where  it  is  beaten  with  a  wooden  hammer  and 
ironed  carefully  to  make  it  smooth.  It  is  then  fin- 
ished and  ready  for  shipping.  To  prevent  moulding, 
dry,  powdered  sulphur  is  sprinkled  between  the  hats  in 
packing.  They  are  easily  sold,  Cuba  and  Central 
America  being  good  markets.  When  the  hats  are  re- 
ceived here,  manufacturers  usually  bleach,  reblock,  and 
finish  them. 

Method  of  Cleaning 

It  is  often  well  to  tell  a  customer  facts  about  the 
care  of  a  hat,  especially  the  Panama.  The  bleaching 
of  hats  with  oxalic  acid  which  is  customary  in  this 
country  to  make  them  pure  white,  is  the  worst  possible 
treatment  for  them.  Such  bleaching  agents  cause  the 
fiber  to  deteriorate  and  greatly  impair  its  durability. 
When  soiled  the  hat  should  be  washed  with  a  pure  soap 


STRAW  HAT-MAKING  37 

and  warm  water.  Some  soaps  are  injurious,  but  white 
soap  is  good.  To  restore  the  shape  it  may  be  dried  on 
a  block  or  stuffed  with  stiff  paper.  Lime,  lemon  juice, 
and  sulphur  assist  the  natural  bleaching  by  the  sun. 

Tests  for  Quality 

To  prove  that  a  Panama  is  of  good  quality,  hold  it 
up  to  the  light  to  see  if  there  are  any  knots  or  patched 
places.  Sometimes  strands  have  been  broken  in  the 
making  and  additional  ones  woven  in.  This  spoils  the 
texture.  It  is  not  apparent  at  first,  but  after  being 
worn  the  ends  are  apt  to  fray  out.  It  is  hard  to  tell 
split  straw,  which  is  much  inferior. to  unsplit  straw, 
as  it  is  woven  with  such  skill  that  only  keen  observa- 
tion will  detect  it. 

Another  test  of  quality  is  the  lack  of  artificial 
stiffening.  The  straw  is  stiff  enough  naturally.  Hats 
of  rather  ordinary  grade  are  sized  with  a  thin  gum 
and  polished  slightly.  This  is  done  as  a  separate 
business  in  the  countries  that  ship  the  Panamas,  and 
sometimes  by  manufacturers  here. 

Imitation  Panamas 

Japan  has  imitated  the  appearance  and  weave  of 
the  Panama  hat.  Among  these  imitations  three  kinds, 
named  for  the  provinces  where  they  are  produced,  are 
generally  sold  today.  The  finest  is  the  Adamba 
Panama,  which  retails  for  $2.50  to  $10. 


38  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

The  Toyo  is  next  in  quality,  selling  from  $1.50  to 
$6.  It  was  introduced  into  the  United  States  in  1914 
and  has  steadily  increased  in  popularity.  The  raw 
material  is  a  sort  of  tough,  thin,  fibrous  paper,  folded 
or  crushed  from  about  a  half  inch  in  width  to  the 
width  of  the  straw.  This  Panama  will  not  crack  when 
bent  nor  be  spoiled  by  dirt  or  water,  as  cleaning  and 
reblocking  restore  it  to  its  former  condition. 

The  least  expensive,  the  Formosa,  sells  from  $i  to 
$5  and  may  be  distinguished  by  faint  spots  that  mar 
the  pure  white  quality.  It  is  also  made  of  paper. 

Wenchow 

A  Chinese  body  hat,  called  the  Wenchow,  is  made 
from  a  strong,  stiff  grass,  with  an  over-and-under 
weave,  which  in  cloth  making  is  called  a  simple  or 
tabby  weave.  It  resembles  close  square  mesh  netting. 
Like  the  Panama  it  is  plaited  by  hand,  in  one  piece. 
It  may  be  embroidered  easily  and  effectively  with 
colored  yarns,  and  may  be  dyed  any  color. 

Philippine  Hats 

In  the  Philippine  Islands  many  varieties  of  hats  are 
made  by  hand,  some  of  one  piece  and  some  of  sewn 
braid. 

The  most  important  varieties  of  these  hats  are  as 
follows : 


STRAW  HAT-MAKING  39 

Bamboo 

Buri 

Kalasio 

Buntal 

Pandan 

In  certain  sections  of  the  islands  the  natives  for- 
merly worked  upon  material  which  was  rare  in  their 
neighborhood,  while  they  neglected  an  abundance  of 
other  material  that  was  close  at  hand,  but  the  United 
States  Government  is  now  teaching  them  better 
methods. 

The  raw  material  is  obtained  mostly  from  bamboo 
and  various  palms.  As  in  other  countries,  the  time 
of  day  when  the  weaving  is  done  is  an  important  con- 
sideration, for  during  the  heat  of  the  day  the  straw 
will  become  brittle  and  crack.  In  one  section  weaving 
is  done  in  shallow  wells,  where  the  weaver  sits  upon  a 
low  platform. 

Two  weaves  are  used.  The  "  close "  weave  is 
adaptable  to  straws  which  are  apt  to  crack  if  bent. 
This  method,  however,  produces  greater  stiffness  than 
the  other  method,  which  is  simply  an  "  open  "  or  "  over- 
and-under  "  weave,  like  a  darn  or  the  weave  of  burlap. 

Bamboo  Hats 

Many  bamboo  hats  are  worn  in  the  United  States  by 
both  men  and  women.  Some  are  known  as  Java  or 


40  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Manila  hats.  The  raw  material  goes  through  many 
processes  which,  although  simple,  take  considerable 
time  before  the  perfect,  even  straw  is  obtained. 

In  the  fall  the  bamboo  is  gathered  and  the  tall  stalks 
are  dried  in  the  shade  for  several  days.  From  ten  to 
twenty  of  the  middle  sections  of  each  stalk  are  then 
cut  at  the  joints  or  nodes.  The  sections  at  the  bottom 
where  the  nodes  are  nearer  together,  produce  short 
straw  and  those  at  the  top  yield  weak  material. 

The  sections  chosen  are  split  from  the  center  into 
several  pieces  lengthwise,  and  each  piece  is  scraped  on 
the  inside,  for  the  inner  material  is  too  weak  and  coarse 
to  be  used.  The  pieces  thus  obtained  are  about  one- 
eighth  of  the  original  thickness,  and  they  are  split  into 
five  or  six  thin  layers,  not  counting  the  green  outer 
skin  which  is  discarded.  The  layers  next  to  the  outer 
skin  are  the  darkest,  finest,  and  strongest.  All  are 
boiled  in  water  for  half  an  hour  to  toughen  and  partly 
bleach  them,  and  are  then  bleached  in  the  sun.  The 
women  sort  them  and  they  are  sold  in  bundles  in  the 
markets  or  directly  to  the  weavers. 

Weaving  Bamboo 

The  weavers,  who  are  mostly  women,  finish  prepar- 
ing the  straw.  First,  layers  of  bamboo  of  the  same 
quality  are  chosen  and  split  into  narrow  strips  with  an 
awl.  By  making  a  fringe  of  straws  at  one  end  of  the 


STRAW  HAT-MAKING  41 

piece  of  bamboo  and  running  the  awl  over  and  under 
these,  the  awl  splits  the  whole  into  straw  when  the 
piece  is  pulled.  These  straws  are  somewhat  uneven  in 
width  and  thickness  and  hence  must  be  shaved  off  in 
a  simple  machine  which  is  made  by  the  weaver. 
Weaving  is  easy  because  the  straw  is  flexible.  If 
water  is  used  to  keep  the  straw  soft,  the  hat  becomes 
yellow. 

The  close  weave  has  to  be  used  with  bamboo  and 
helps  give  it  stiffness.  The  women  become  so  expert 
with  their  fingers  that  they  can  almost  weave  in  their 
sleep.  The  length  of  time  consumed  in  making  the 
various  grades  of  bamboo  hats  corresponds  to  that 
spent  on  Panamas,  several  hours  for  the  coarsest  and 
several  months  for  the  finest. 

Double  Hats 

Most  bamboo  hats  are  made  double  to  give  sufficient 
strength  and  stiffness.  The  outer  hat  is  finer  than  the 
inner  one.  Finishing  the  brim  by  joining  the  edges 
is  expert  work  and  is  generally  done  by  special 
workers.  The  under  brim  is  trimmed  somewhat 
smaller  than  the  outer,  and  the  straws  of  the  outer  hat 
are  turned  back  and  under  and  woven  into  the  edge 
of  the  under  brim.  Examination  of  a  bamboo  hat  will 
show  how  difficult  this  work  must  be. 

The  outer  hat  is  sometimes  dyed  a  different  color 


42  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

from  the  under  one,  which  may  be  left  the  natural 
cream  color.  Dyes  and  bleaches  act  very  easily  upon 
bamboo  straw.  The  last  operation  in  manufacturing 
a  bamboo  hat  is  to  trim  the  projecting  straws  and  to 
polish  it  to  a  finer  luster  by  means  of  some  smooth 
hard  surface,  such  as  that  of  a  bottle. 

Qualities  of  the  Bamboo  Hat 

Sizing  is  needed  to  furnish  stiffness  enough  to  keep 
the  shape,  as  the  bamboo  is  so  light  and  flexible  a 
straw. 

Bamboo  hats  are  strong  but  are  not  so  long-lived  as 
most  Philippine  hats,  although  probably  more  of  them 
than  of  other  kinds  are  now  exported.  The  holes 
made  by  hatpins  show  in  a  bamboo  hat  and  damage  it, 
though  this  may  be  concealed  by  the  trimming  or  by 
using  other  methods  of  fastening.  A  fashionable  way 
of  trimming,  during  one  season,  was  by  painting  upon 
the  surface  of  the  hat,  birds,  vines,  flowers,  or  other 
decorations.  Dolls'  hats  are  often  made  of  bamboo. 

Buri  Hats 

From  the  buri  palm  three  distinct  varieties  of  hats 
are  made.  The  first,  called  buri  hats,  are  made  from 
the  blades  of  the  unopened  leaf.  These  hats  are  coarse 
and  not  very  durable.  They  are  suitable  only  for 
outing  hats  and  are  sold  cheaply  at  summer  resorts  and 


STRAW  HAT-MAKING  43 

the  seaside.  As  they  are  naturally  stiff,  because  the 
straw  is  rather  broad  and  tough,  they  are  not  sized. 
Neither,  usually,  are  they  blocked  or  trimmed,  but  are 
bleached  white.  Children's  hats  of  buri  are  made  very 
attractive  by  weaving  in  a  few  colored  straws.  The 
open  weave  is  used.  Buri  is  easily  dyed,  though  the 
aniline  dyes  now  used  fade  more  rapidly  than  the 
vegetable  dyes  which  they  have  displaced. 

Kalasio  Hats 

Another  variety  made  from  the  buri  palm  is  the 
Kalasio  hat,  named  for  one  of  the  towns  where  it  is 
made.  These  hats  are  made  from  the  midrib  of  the 
unopened  leaf.  The  material  is  stronger  than  bamboo 
and  does  not  crack  when  bent.  When  brought  from 
the  Philippines  it  is  rather  costly.  Other  countries, 
Mexico,  for  instance,  make  a  similar  hat  more  cheaply. 

The  structure  resembles  that  of  the  bamboo  hat  —  a 
double  hat  skilfully  joined  at  the  edge.  Either  weave 
may  be  used  or  both  of  them  together,  with  a  band  of 
the  open  weave  around  the  brim  of  a  closely  woven 
hat.  A  dull  finish  is  given  by  dusting  the  hat  with 
sulphur. 

Buntal  Hats 

The  third  kind  of  hat  made  from  the  buri  palm  is 
the  buntal  hat,  which  is  called  in  the  United  States 


44  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

"  East  Indian  Panama,"  or  "  Italian  straw."  The 
stem  of  the  opened  leaf  of  the  palm  is  used.  The 
method  of  manufacture  is  very  similar  to  those  pre- 
viously described.  The  natives  divide  the  labor  of 
preparing,  plaiting,  and  finishing.  Since  the  straw  is 
naturally  stiff,  it  can  be  made  too  stiff  with  sizing, 
which  is  a  defect.  Buntal  hats  are  strong,  light,  and 
look  more  silky  in  texture  than  a  Panama.  They  are 
quite  popular,  especially  for  men's  summer  hats.  The 
whiteness  is  not  retained  long,  but  if  they  are  bleached 
when  cleaned  they  look  as  good  as  new.  The  finish  is 
obtained  by  ironing.  Buntal  hats  in  the  close  weave 
are  the  finest  produced  in  the  Philippines  and  are 
rather  costly. 

Pandan  Hats 

Pandan  hats  are  strong  and  last  well.  They  have 
a  natural  gray  or  brown  color,  and  are  of  wide  straw 
giving  a  coarse  appearance.  Madagascar  supplies 
these  hats  at  a  low  price.  The  color  is  so  attractive 
naturally  that  they  are  not  often  bleached. 

Minor  Hat  Materials 

Among  the  minor  materials  from  which  hats  are 
made  in  the  Philippines  are  a  black  fern  stem,  the  in- 
terior of  the  vegetable  sponge,  rice  straw,  grass,  the 
cattail,  and  other  plants.  An  unusual  hat  is  made  of 


STRAW  HAT-MAKING  45 

rattan.  It  is  double,  with  a  velvety,  dark  smooth 
straw  of  slightly  uneven  color  running  through  the 
weave.  Durable  and  beautiful  though  they  are,  the 
expense  of  their  manufacture  prevents  the  wide  use  of 
rattan  hats. 

Export  Trade 

Since  there  has  been  free  trade  between  the  United 
States  and  the  Philippines,  the  export  trade  in  hats 
has  greatly  increased.  With  this  advantage,  together 
with  the  excellent  work  of  the  schools,  which  are  im- 
proving and  spreading  the  industry,  we  may  expect  to 
see  still  greater  use  of  the  different  varieties  of  hats 
from  these  islands.  Bamboo  and  buntal  hats  bring  the 
most  money  to  the  islands,  although  many  inexpensive 
buri  hats  are  exported.  If  the  special  name  is  un- 
known or  not  used,  the  hats  are  called  simply  "  Philip- 
pine hats,"  but  the  salesperson  will  be  able  to  pick  them 
out  from  the  preceding  description  and  from  the  pic- 
tures. 


Chapter  V 
MACHINE-MADE  STRAW  HATS 

Development  of  Industry 

The  word  "  manufacture  "  is  applied  to  the  making 
of  hats  whether  by  hand  or  by  machine,  but  having 
considered  typical  methods  of  making  hats  and  braids 
by  hand,  we  shall  now  take  up  the  methods  of  making 
and  treating  hats  in  factories. 

Factory  hat  manufacture  is  a  development  of  the 
last  century,  and  the  number,  extent,  and  variety  of 
hat  factories,  not  only  in  the  United  States,  but 
throughout  the  civilized  world,  are  surprisingly  large. 
A  hat  factory  is  a  most  interesting  and  instructive  place 
to  visit,  especially  if  one  knows  beforehand  something 
about  the  processes  and  the  reasons  for  them. 

Location  of  Factories 

In  general,  the  countries  which  produce  the  most 
raw  material  for  hats  are  those  which  have  the  greatest 
number  of  factories,  except  the  small  countries  like 
the  Philippines,  where  the  population  is  not  yet  indus- 
trial but  mainly  agricultural.  All  large  countries 
which  are  industrially  developed  manufacture  hats, 

46 


MACHINE-MADE  STRAW  HATS  47 

and  thus,  although  the  United  States  produces  almost 
no  raw  material  for  hats  except  cotton,  wool,  and  fur, 
it  has  many  hat  factories. 

Very  few  machine-stitched  braid  hats  are  imported ; 
most  hats  of  this  sort  are  made  here  from  imported 
braids. 

Different  Kinds  of  Factories 

The  modern  hat  factory  has  many  specialized  de- 
partments and  a  highly  organized  staff  of  employees. 
There  are  various  types  of  factories  and  establish- 
ments connected  directly  with  the  hat  industry.  They 
may  be  classified  as  follows : 

1.  Foreign  houses  that  receive  braids  and  body 

hats  and  ship  them  after  putting  them 
through  the  finishing  processes  of  dyeing, 
bleaching,  and  blocking.  Such  houses  flour- 
ish in  ports  of  China,  Japan,  and  other  coun- 
tries that  export  large  quantities  of  hats. 
There  are  many  in  the  United  States. 

2.  Factories  that  make  up  braids  into  hats  and 

occasionally  handle  imported  body  hats. 
These  buy  almost  exclusively  from  importers 
of  braids  and  body  hats  in  the  rough. 

3.  Felt,  pile  fabric,  and  silk  hat  factories,  which 

may  or  may  not  be  associated  with  the  straw 
factories. 


48  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

4.  Millinery  shops  and  factories,  including  depart- 

ment store  workrooms,  where  untrimmed 
hats  are  trimmed,  hats  are  made  of  braid  by 
hand  on  wire,  buckram,  or  net  frames,  im- 
ported models  copied,  etc. 

5.  Importers  and  manufacturers  of  flowers,  foli- 

age, feathers,  trimmings,  ornaments,  novel- 
ties, ribbons,  silk  goods,  maline,  etc. 

6.  Manufacturers  of  hat  frames,  hat  linings,  ban- 

deaux, etc. 

7.  Manufacturers  of  dye,  finishes,  lacquers,  glue, 

cement,  sizing,  varnish,  dies,  plaster  blocks, 
sewing  machines,  etc.,  for  use  in  hat  factories. 

A  description  of  the  second  class  of  factories  will 
include  the  methods  of  the  first  class. 

Receiving  the  Braids 

The  braids,  which  are  received  in  bales  or  cases  (see 
Figure  5),  generally  come  in  pieces  60  yards  in  length, 
weighing  one- fourth  of  a  pound.  Manufacturers 
often  order  10,000  pieces  at  once.  Tagal  braid  from 
Japan  comes  25  pieces  of  80  yards  each  to  a  bundle, 
and  1,000  pieces  to  a  box.  Chinese  braid  is  tied  up 
into  pieces  60  or  120  yards  long,  with  240  pieces  to  the 
bale.  The  larger  manufacturers  employ  "  graders  "  to 
separate  the  grades  of  braid  into  several  classes.  The 
contents  of  each  bale  vary  in  quality,  some  finer  and 


MACHINE-MADE  STRAW  HATS  49 

some  coarser,  and  in  width.  The  value  is  set  accord- 
ing to  quality.  This  careful  standardization  makes 
uniform  prices  for  material  of  one  quality,  and  one 
customer  or  retailer  cannot  complain  that  his  ship- 
ment of  hats  is  inferior  to  another  at  the  same  price. 

Sewing  the  Braid  into  Hats 

The  manufacturers  generally  make  up  hats  in  quan- 
tity only  as  orders  are  received.  Large  factories  with 
sufficient  capital  to  risk,  sometimes  make  up  what  is 
known  as  "  floor  "  goods,  anticipating  the  demand  for 
a  few  shapes.  Each  operator  works  on  one  special 
model,  and  is  usually  given  enough  braid  to  make  at 
least  four  dozen  of  the  desired  type  of  hat.  The  hats 
are  shaped  from  a  plaster  block  which  is  given  to  the 
operator,  and  changed  whenever  a  new  shape  is 
wanted.  Sometimes  manufacturers  make  hats  up 
ahead  of  time,  copying  and  modifying  imported 
models,  but  more  often  they  are  behind  or  just  even 
with  their  orders. 

The  operators  work  in  a  large,  light  room  on  power 
sewing  machines  of  a  special  make,  that  sew  either 
by  lock  or  chain  stitch.  The  plaster  blocks  by  which 
the  operators  shape  the  hats  have  been  molded  by  plas- 
terers in  another  part  of  the  factory  into  the  exact 
shapes  desired.  These  shapes  are  generally  either 
copies  of  imported  models  or  adaptations  of  them,  as 


50  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

imported  styles  are  apt  to  be  too  extreme  for  the 
American  taste.  The  operator  wets  the  braid  and 
sews  with  great  rapidity  and  deftness.  It  is  interest- 
ing to  know  that  the  sewers  receive  more  per  yard  for 
sewing  by  machine  than  the  woman  received  for  plait- 
ing the  braid  by  hand  in  distant  China. 

Sizing 

The  sewed  hats  are  then  taken  to  the  sizing  room, 
where  they  are  dipped  into  a  kind  of  starch  to  stiffen 
them.  The  luster  and  stiffness  of  the  finished  hat 
depend  very  largely  upon  the  kind  of  sizing  used. 

Blocking 

The  hats  are  dried  on  shelves  placed  one  above  an- 
other in  the  drying  room  and  are  then  passed  to  the 
blocking  department,  where  they  are  fitted  upon  hot 
metal  blocks  exactly  similar  in  shape  to  the  plaster 
blocks  which  guided  the  sewing  of  the  braid.  The 
blocks  are  placed  in  presses  or  stampers,  which  work 
by  hydraulic  pressure.  Hydraulic  presses  are  used  for 
hats  requiring  a  smooth  finish,  and  stem  machines  for 
hats  that  are  to  have  a  rough  effect.  The  hydraulic 
pressure  is  75  to  100  pounds,  much  less  than  is  used  on 
a  felt  hat,  where  it  is  often  500  pounds.  This  opera- 
tion presses  the  hats  into  the  shape  of  the  metal  die, 
which  when  it  is  made  of  zinc  spelter  averages  no 
pounds  in  weight. 


MACHINE-MADE  STRAW  HATS  51 

Additional  Blocking 

An  additional  process  is  applied  to  more  expensive 
grades  of  hats,  which  necessitates  more  expense,  more 
workers  and  consequently  raises  the  price  of  the  hat. 
After  the  hats  are  taken  from  the  presses  they  are  put 
on  other  blocks  on  a  hot  table,  which  is  usually  of  steel, 
about  thirty  feet  long  and  four  or  five  feet  wide,  and  is 
heated  from  underneath  by  gas  or  steam.  This  as- 
sures a  perfectly  formed  hat. 

Finishing 

The  hats  are  then  ready  for  ticketing  and  lining. 

The  crowns  and  brims  of  certain  hats  are  made  sep- 
arately and  then  sewn  together.  Finer  grades  and 
Panamas  are  blocked  by  hand ;  wooden  blocks,  which 
rest  on  the  hot  table,  are  sometimes  used. 

Sewed  Braids 

In  recent  years  narrow  braids  have  been  used  to  a 
great  extent.  There  are,  however,  many  millinery 
concerns  which  make  hand-sewed  hats  of  wide  braids ; 
such  as  those  of  artificial  silk,  ramie,  open  work  hair, 
and  lace  Tuscan.  To  supply  the  demand  of  these  shops 
for  wide  braids  and  at  the  same  time  to  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  fashion,  the  straw  factories  produce 
bolts  of  braid  which  give  an  effect  of  three,  four,  or 
five  rows  of  narrow  braid. 


Chapter  VI 

FELT  HATS 

Felting  Properties  of  Wool  and  Fur 

The  basal  fact  upon  which  the  whole  process  of  mak- 
ing felt  or  articles  of  felt  rests  is  the  felting  property 
peculiar  to  fur  and  wool ;  some  kinds  possess  this  felt- 
ing property  in  a  greater  degree  than  others. 

When  wool  or  fur  fibers  are  viewed  under  a  micro- 
scope, many  tiny  scales  are  seen  upon  their  apparently 
smooth  surface;  in  fact,  some  fibers  seem  to  be  made 
up  of  scales,  all  pointing  in  one  direction,  like  the 
ridges  on  a  pine  cone.^  Human  hair  is  like  that ;  if  the 
fingers  are  run  along  a  single  hair,  it  will  be  found  that 
they  will  slide  down  more  smoothly  than  they  will  run 
up,  on  account  of  the  scales.  pVhen  fur  fibers  are  put 
into  hot  water  the  scales  expand  and  do  not  cling  so 
tightly  to  the  fiber.  Then  when  the  water  is  drained 
off  and  the  scales  close  down  on  the  hair  again,  they 
catch  and  interlock  with  scales  on  adjacent  hairs,  mat- 
ting  the  fibers  together  more  and  more  firmly  as  the 
process  is  repeated.  This  is  why  woolen  goods  con- 
tinue to  shrink  unless  properly  handled  in  washing* 

52 


FELT  HATS  53 

Sources  of  Felt 

The  raw  material  for  making  felt  hats  comes  from 
many  parts  of  the  world,  especially  from  Australia, 
New  Zealand,  Russia,  Siberia,  and  Scotland.  Fur  is 
the  material  used  in  the  better  hats,  but  wool  is  more 
common  and,  in  cheap  grades,  adulterants  of  cotton 
are  used.  Wool  waste,  or  the  "  noils  "  as  the  fac- 
tories call  it,  preferably  of  Australian  or  Merino  wool, 
is  the  part  of  wool  used  for  felt.  It  is  bought  in  the 
greasy  state  from  woolen  factories. 
•  Most  of  the  fur  was  originally  obtained  from 
beavers,  which  were  formerly  found  in  numbers  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  United  States  and  in  Canada. 
They  live  in  colonies,  building  dams  across  small 
streams  by  night,  and  concealing  the  entrances  to  their 
mud  houses  on  the  bank  by  having  the  opening  several 
feet  under  water  and  the  passageway  sloping  upward. 

Other  prized  fur  comes  from  the  otter,  mink,  Rus- 
sian hare,  Saxony  hare.  Scotch  hare,  Scotch  coney,  and 
French  coney  (rabbit). 

Musk  rat  and  nutria  have  also  been  used.  The 
muskrat  or  musquash,  a  native  of  Canada,  is  a  cousin 
of  the  beaver,  but  smaller.  He  builds  houses  as  does 
the  beaver  and  is  very  prolific.  The  pelt  is  sold  for 
furs  as  "  River  Mink  "  or  "  Hudson  Seal."  The  fur 
of  the  nutria,  or  coypu  rat,  is  imported  from  South 
America.  It  is  most  important  to  get  the  fur  for  hats 


54  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

at  the  proper  season.  <It  is  much  the  best  in  the  winter 
when  it  is  not  being  shed  for  warm  weather,  and  is 
called  "  seasoned  "  fur ;  at  all  other  times  it  is  known 
as  "  unseasoned.  ^  The  thickest  fur  is  obtained  from 
animals  which  live  in  a  cold  climate. 

First  Process 

Receiving  the  skins  and  preparing  the  fur  for  the 
hat-maker  is  almost  a  separate  manufacturing  process, 
performed  by  specialized  factories. 

The  skins  are  first  sorted  by  experts  into  eight  or  ten 
grades  according  to  kind,  color,  or  quality.  They  are 
brushed  to  straighten  out  the  fur,  and  then,  as  there 
are  stiff  long  hairs  sticking  up  throughout  the  soft, 
downy  fur,  as  many  as  possible  are  removed  by  pluck- 
ing, a  process  which  does  not  harm  the  fur. 

Washing  the  Skins 

The  skins  are  then  cleaned  of  the  fatty  matter,  of 
which  there  is  a  large  amount,  in  beaver  and  nutria 
skins  especially.  This  process  is  known  as  "  carrot- 
ing,"  which  is  washing  in  a  solution  of  mercury  and 
nitric  acid.  "  Carroting  "  is  so  called  from  the  color 
it  imparts. 

Drying  and  Cutting 

The  skins  are  carefully  dried,  brushed,  and  then  cut 
into  narrow  strips  by  a  machine  which  at  the  same 


FELT  HATS  55 

time  shears  the  fur  close  to  the  skin.  The  pelt  strips 
shorn  of  the  fleece  in  this  way  are  used  for  by-products 
such  as  glue  and  gelatin. 

Sorting  and  Grading 

The  fur  fleece  is  then  sorted  into  grades  according 
to  quality.  The  choicest  part  of  tlje  fleece  of  land  ani- 
mals is  the  back,  and  of  water  animals  the  belly  and 
cheeks;  towards  the  outer  edges  of  the  skin  the  quality 
deteriorates.  Sometimes  the  fur  is  stored  to  improve 
with  age,  and  sometimes  dyed  after  it  has  been  car- 
roted  and  graded.  It  may  be  mixed  and  blended  also 
before  being  sold,  a  common  mixture  being  one  part 
uncarroted  to  two  parts  carroted.  It  is  put  into  5 
and  10  pound  bags  and  sold  to  the  hat  manufacturer. 

The  process  from  here  on  is  identical  for  both  fur 
and  wool,  and  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  word 
"  wool "  may  be  substituted  for  "  fur  "  throughout. 

Mixing 

When  the  fleeces  are  received  by  the  manufacturer, 
the  first  process  is  weighing  and  mixing  the  grades  to 
make  hats  of  different  qualities.  This  process  requires 
expert  knowledge.  The  short  and  the  long  fur  are 
mixed  together. 

Cleansing  the  Fur 

To  mix  the  fur  and  to  cleanse  it  two  machines  are 


56  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

used.  The  first  is  called  a  "  devil."  The  fur  is  fed 
through  it  three  times,  being  tossed  and  whirled  and 
picked  apart  by  revolving  teeth  and  settling  again  in 
order  to  have  the  process  repeated.  The  fur  still  has 
in  it  hairs,  bits  of  pelt,  coarse  particles,  and  dust, 
which  are  next  removed  by  a  machine  called  a 
"  blower."  A  cylindrical  apparatus,  inside  of  which  a 
toothed  cylinder  revolves  several  thousand  times  a 
minute,  tosses  the  fur  upward  where  it  is  blown  to 
another  machine,  while  the  impurities  fall  down  upon 
a  screen  which  sifts  them.  This  operation  is  repeated 
several  times. 

Forming 

The  next  process  is  called  li  forming."  In  prep- 
aration for  it  the  exact  weight  of  fur  for  a  hat,  in  the 
case  of  a  soft  hat  from  three  to  five  or  six  ounces,  is 
put  into  a  little  box.  A  dozen  of  these  boxes  of  fur 
are  then  put  into  a  case,  and  from  this  point  on  the 
hats  continue  to  be  grouped  by  dozens. 

An  operator  feeds  the  fur,  box  by  box,  through 
rollers,  into  the  machine  called  a  "  former,"  which 
roughly  forms  or  shapes  the  hat  body.  This  machine, 
invented  in  1846,  reduced  the  cost  of  labor  to  about 
one-tenth  that  of  the  slow  hand  method.  A  part  of  the 
machine  whirls  and  scatters  the  fur.  A  cone  of  thin 
copper  plate,  perforated  with  many  tiny  holes,  is  slow- 


FELT  HATS  57 

ly  revolved,  while  a  suction  fan  revolving  very  swiftly 
—  about  4,000  times  a  minute  —  below  the  cone  draws 
the  fur  down  evenly  all  over  the  cone's  surface  and 
mats  the  fibers  together.  Wet  cloths  are  thrown  over 
the  cone,  another  perforated  cone  of  the  same  shape  is 
placed  over  it,  and  the  whole  is  put  into  a  tank  of  hot 
water  for  a  minute  and  then  passed  to  the  next  process 

Felting  Process  Begun 

This  matted  fur,  even  as  it  comes  from  the  hot 
water,  is  the  beginning  of  the  hat  body.  It  if,  about 
three  times  larger,  however,  than  the  finished  shape  — 
some  32  inches  deep  and  36  inches  in  diameter. 

The  cone  might  be  discarded  at  this  point,  for  the 
process  of  felting  has  really  be-^un.  In  order  to 
harden  the  fur  bodies  enough  to  prevent  breakage  in 
later  handling  they  are  wra**oed  in  a  woolen  cloth  still 
attached  to  their  cones,  ro  ,a  gently  by  hand,  squeezed, 
and  pressed. 

Sizing 

The  sizing  process  now  begins;  after  it  has  been  re- 
peated the  cones  are  reduced  to  one-third  the  original 
size.  Three  or  four  cones  are  dipped  together  into  a 
tank  of  water  kept  at  the  boiling  point  by  steam,  and 
then  rolled  upon  a  sloping  table,  which  is  called  a 
"  battery." 


58  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

The  hats  are  taken  out  of  the  boiling  water  quickly, 
wrapped  in  burlap,  and  again  rolled  gently  by  hand  on 
the  table  to  dry  them.  As  the  process  is  repeated  the 
hats  may  be  treated  less  gently,  since  the  felt  continues 
to  knit  more  closely  together.  The  rolling  tends  to 
mat  the  fibers  closely  as  they  press  together  and  spring 
back. 

In  cheaper  grade  hats  this  process  is  done  by 
machine,  but  the  hand  method  is  considered  better. 
The  reduction  in  size  and  thickness  must  be  uniform, 
and  thte  is  secured  by  shaking  and  turning  the  cones. 
By  this  method  any  imperfections  are  discovered  and 
should  be  corrected  at  this  point.  Foreign  particles 
which  have  escaped  removal  by  previous  cleansings 
must  be  taken  out.  /The  selvage  is  trimmed,  and  the 
size  in  which  the  hat  is- o  be  finished  is  marked  on  the 
edge  by  a  notch./ 

Dyeing 

The  mixture  of  the  different  colors  of  the  raw 
material  results  in  a  gray  shade  in  the  body,  and  if  the 
hats  are  to  be  dyed,  they  are  boiled  several  hours  at  this 
stage  in  a  solution  of  the  desired  color.  The  dye  is  in 
large  vats  and  is  constantly  stirred  to  give  uniform 
color.  In  the  drying  room  the  hats  are  dried  thor- 
oughly at  a  high  temperature.  Coal  tar  products  are 
generally  employed  for  dyeing. 


FELT  HATS  59 

Stiffening 

After  dyeing,  the  hats  are  soaked  in  a  solution  of 
shellac  in  alcohol  to  stiffen  them.  A  cheaper  solution 
is  of  shellac  and  alkali,  and  since  80  per  cent  of  the 
alkali  may  be  recovered  for  use  again,  it  is  generally 
used.  The  hats  are  dipped  again  and  again  in  the 
solution  and  rolled,'  and  when  thoroughly  soaked  the 
alcohol  is  allowed  to  evaporate  or  the  alkali  is  coun- 
teracted by  an  acid.  They  are  dried  at  a  high  tem- 
perature and  steamed  to  draw  the  shellac  into  the  in- 
terior of  the  fabric. 

Stretching 

The  stretching  department  receives  the  hats  next  and 
places  them  on  machines ;  here  they  begin  to  resemble 
the  finished  shape.  The  felt  cone  is  worked  slowly 
and  gently  onto  a  revolving  block,  shaped  like  the 
crown  of  a  hat  and  called  a  "  tip,"  and  is  forced  down 
until  it  conforms  to  this  shape.  The  tip-stretching 
shapes  the  crown  only;  after  this  the  brim  must  be 
stretched.  The  hydraulic  presses  which  then  block  the 
hats  into  shape  often  exert  500  pounds'  pressure. 
These  presses  use  metal  dies  of  the  exact  shape  of  the 
finished  hat. 

Finishing  Processes 

Until  this  stage  the  process  has  been  the  same  for 


6o  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

both  soft  and  stiff  hats,  but  from  now  on  the  treat- 
ment is  different.  The  soft  hats  are  dried  after  the 
machine  blocking,  softened  again  by  steam,  shaped  and 
stretched  by  hand  over  a  die  of  the  desired  shape, 
ironed  by  hand  with  a  hot  iron,  and  put  to  cool  in  a 
cold  water  press.  If  the  surface  of  the  hats  is  too 
rough,  all  or  part  of  the  nap  is  removed  by  a  machine 
with  a  sharp  knife  blade.  The  hat  may  be  polished 
and  rubbed  to  bring  out  the  best  effect  of  the  dyes  and 
to  give  a  gloss.  Some  colors  have  a  more  glossy  effect 
than  others.  The  finishing  includes  trimming  the 
brim.  After  an  inspection  the  hats  are  packed  in 
bandboxes  and  put  in  cases  ready  for  shipment. 

Different  Grades  of  Felt 

The  largest  business  in  felt  hats  is  in  men's  wear, 
as  there  is  a  staple  demand  for  men's  felt  hats.  The 
amount  of  felt  used  in  women's  headgear  varies  in  dif- 
ferent years.  There  are  many  different  grades  and 
finishes  of  felt.  Besides  wool  hats  and  fur  hats  there 
are  mixtures  in  which  the  wool  is  usually  underneath. 
Hats  of  shoddy,  a  combination  of  the  cheapest  wool 
and  cotton,  are  made  only  when  felt,  hats  are  so  popular 
that  a  very  low-priced  felt  is  demanded  by  a  part  of  the 
trade.  The  finish  may  be  thick  and  downy,  or  like 
a  velour  with  little  nap.  Long  hairs  are  characteristic 
of  the  scratch  or  mohair  finish. 


FELT  HATS  6 1 

Recently  there  has  been  shown  a  felt  of  a  beautiful 
lustrous  finish,  sometimes  called  charmeuse.  The  dis- 
tinguishing features  are  the  slightly  loose  nap,  and 
the  polished  surface,  of  the  flat  nap.  The  velour  finish 
is  dense  and  erect. 

History  of  Felt  Hats 

Felt  hat  manufacture  is  a  very  old  industry.  *  Ac- 
cording to  one  story  it  was  originated  by  St.  Clement, 
and  the  festival  of  the  trade  used  to  be  held  on  his  day, 
the  twenty-third  of  November.  Of  course,  until  re- 
cent years  all  the  operations  were  performed  by  hand, 
but  modern  machinery  has  usurped  every  process,  al- 
though it  is  still  believed  that  the  hand  process  makes  a 
somewhat  better  hat. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  felt  hats  date  back  to  a  time  even 
earlier  than  the  legend  just  referred  to.  One  of  the 
types  of  ancient  Roman  hats,  called  the  "  petasus," 
worn  on  a  journey,  was  much  like  the  felt  hats  now 
used. 

Many  traditions  are  connected  with  caps  and  hats. 
Among  the  Romans  the  cap  was  a  symbol  of  liberty. 
Wearing  a  hat  in  medieval  times  also  was  a  mark  of 
distinction. 

Hatters  began  to  flourish  in  Nuremberg,  Germany, 
as  early  as  1369.  In  1453  the  French  had  adopted 
headcovering  generally.  In  colonial  days  the  hatters 


62  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

of  England  complained  of  the  competition  of  the 
American  colonies,  and  ever  since  America  has  been 
very  proficient  in  hat-making,  although  soft  felt  hats 
were  not  worn  here  until  1850. 

Today  some  of  the  finest  hats  in  the  world  are  made 
in  America.  Centers  of  the  industry  are  Philadelphia 
and  Reading,  Pa. ;  Orange  and  Newark,  N.  J. ;  Dan- 
bury,  Bethel,  and  Norwalk,  Conn.,  and  Yonkers  and 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.  At  the  present  time  many  hats  are 
exported  from  the  United  States. 


Chapter  VII 
VELVET  AND  OTHER  FABRIC  HATS 

Use  of  Velvet  and  Other  Fabrics  in  Hats 

Velvet  is  used  a  great  deal  for  hats  and  hat  trim- 
mings. It  has  been  popular  for  headgear  since  it  was 
introduced  in  England  at  the  time  of  the  Norman  Con- 
quest, when  the  men  of  the  nobility  wore  bright  colored 
clothing  and  caps  or  bonnets  of  velvet  adorned  with 
long  plumes. 

Manufacture  of  Pile  Fabrics 

Velvet  is  called  a  pile  fabric  because  of  the  soft  nap 
or  pile  which  hides  the  cloth  that  forms  the  back  of  the 
material.  The  back  of  almost  all  velvet  is  of  cotton; 
the  pile  is  of  silk.  The  pile  is  formed  by  carrying  part 
of  the  warp  thread  over  a  wire  and  cutting  the  loops 
afterwards,  or  by  a  special  double-cloth  weaving 
process.  (See  the  manual  for  the  "Silk  Depart- 
ment "  for  a  more  extended  description  of  velvet 
weaving. ) 

63 


64  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Ways  to  Determine  Quality  of  Velvet 

There  are  a  number  of  ways  to  tell  a  good  piece  of 
velvet,  although  it  is  rather  difficult  for  an  amateur 
to  do  so.  The  closeness  of  weave  of  the  back  is  one 
indication  of  the  quality.  The  two  principal  kinds  of 
weaves  are  the  German  and  the  Lyons.  Both  kinds 
are  made  in  America.  The  Lyons  weave,  which  is 
named  for  a  French  city  which  is  a  great  silk  and  vel- 
vet center,  is  generally  the  best.  The  backs  of  the 
two  kinds  look  slightly  different,  as  may  be  seen  by 
examining  them ;  the  Lyons  velvet  is  usually  lighter  in 
weight,  and  the  back  shows  through  the  nap  more. 
Of  two  grades  of  Lyons  velvet  the  more  expensive  has 
the  thicker  pile  and  shows  the  back  less.  The  thick- 
ness of  the  nap  may  be  clearly  seen  by  folding  a  piece 
of  the  velvet  to  determine  how  much  the  back  shows 
through  on  the  fold. 

Uncut  velvet  is  sometimes  used. 

The  quality  of  silk  from  which  velvet  is  made  has 
much  to  do  with  the  value  of  the  finished  article. 
Pure  silk  from  silk-worms  fetf  on  mulberry  trees,  and 
reeled  in  great  lengths  from  the  cocoons,  is  the  best. 
The  waste  silk  —  that  made  from  pierced  cocoons 
from  which  the  moth  has  escaped  —  and  other  in- 
ferior kinds,  are  called  schappe  (spun)  silks  and  do 
not  make  so  fine  an  article.  Although  cotton  is  com- 
monly used  for  the  backs,  manufacturers  used  to  speak 


VELVET  AND  OTHER  FABRIC  HATS    65 

of  a  good  piece  of  velvet  as  "  linen-backed,"  to  indi- 
cate superior  quality. 

Manufacture  of  Velvet  Hats 

Formerly,  even  in  factories,  all  velvet  hats  had  to  be 
made  by  hand ;  the  operators  stretched  and  pinned  the 
velvet  onto  wire  and  net  frames.  At  every  place 
where  there  was  a  dip  in  the  shape,  the  velvet  had  to 
be  tacked  by  hand.  This  made  the  hats  more  expen- 
sive and  the  effect  was  not  quite  so  smooth  and 
tailored  as  that  obtained  today  by  a  new  method,  by 
which  the  velvet  is  pressed  onto  buckram  or  willow 
frames  containing  glue.  The  heat  in  the  dies  brings 
out  the  glue,  which,  however,  does  not  come  through 
the  fabric.  This  makes  the  velvet  conform  easily  and 
exactly  to  the  shape  of  the  frame.  The  finish  of  the 
velvet  is  slightly  affected  by  this  method,  but  not 
enough  to  damage  it. 

"^Hand-made  velvet  hats  are  often  made  over  wire 
frames  which  are  usually  bought  from  factories.  It  is 
not  a  very  difficult  piece  of  work  to  make  a  frame,  and 
anyone  who  is  skilful  with  her  fingers  can  do  it. 
Strong  wire  is  used  and  with  a  pair  of  pliers  tiny 
thread  wire  is  twisted  around  each  place  where  the 
larger  wires  cross,  to  hold  them  in  place.  This  method 
is  taught  in  millinery  classes.  (For  further  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  making  hat  frames  see  Chapter  XV.} 


66  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Silk  and  Satin  Hats 

Silk  hats  are  worn  between  seasons  when  people  are 
tired  of  straw  or  velvet.  Of  late  years  satin  has  been 
in  favor.  Satin  is  a  silk,  of  course,  but  the  weave  is 
usually  one  thread  under  and  five  to  seven  over,  so  that 
the  extreme  glossiness  of  the  smooth  silk  fibers  is  pre- 
served. In  a  taffeta,  where  the  weave  is  simply  over 
one  and  under  one  (simple  or  tabby  weave)  much  of 
the  gloss  is  lost.  The  more  tightly  the  silk  threads 
are  twisted,  the  stronger  they  become  but  more  of  the 
shimmer  is  lost. 

Durability  of  Silk  Hats 

If  the  public  were  more  particular  about  the  wearing 
qualities  of  a  hat,  it  would  pay  the  salespeople  to  know 
thoroughly  all  about  the  durability  of  the  popular  kinds 
of  fabrics,  but  the  average  customer  merely  wants  rea- 
sonable service  from  a  hat,  as  she  tires  of  it,  or  the 
season  changes  before  she  wears  it  out.  So  the  appeal 
of  length  of  service  cannot  be  made  to  many  cus- 
tomers. When  it  does  appeal  to  a  customer,  the  price 
of  a  hat  is  a  fairly  sure  indication  of  the  value. 

Weighted  Silk 

A  stiff  silk  like  a  taffeta  is  apt  to  crack  and  wear  out 
sooner  than  a  soft  silk  of  the  same  value,  owing  to  the 
weighting  or  loading  of  the  former.  Silk  fiber  has  the 
power  of  absorbing  certain  metate  in  solution.  The 


VELVET  AND  OTHER  FABRIC  HATS    67 

stiffer  and  cheaper  the  silk,  the  more  metal  (salts  of 
lead)  has  been  absorbed  into  the  fiber  in  its  making, 
and  the  more  this  so-called  weighting  will  cause  the 
fiber  to  crack  and  wear  out.  Dark  dyes  absorb 
weighting  more  readily  than  light.  If  you  wish  to  test 
any  piece  of  silk  for  the  amount  of  weighting,  burn  a 
small  piece  with  a  match.  If  a  soft  gray  ash  is  left, 
the  silk  was  of  good  quality,  but  if  there  is  a  stiff  black 
metal  framework  left  after  the  silk  has  burned  away, 
the  piece  was  heavily  weighted. 

,  See  manual  for  the  "  Silk  Department "  for  further 
information  on  the  weighting  of  silks. 

Silk  is  used  in  mourning  hats,  often  in  such  materials 
as  faille  or  peau  de  soie,  although  the  materials  vary 
with  different  years.  Silk  is  used  chiefly  in  millinery 
shops  and  workrooms,  especially  for  the  more  dressy 
hats.  Silk  or  satin  hats  are  usually  trimmed  very 
simply,  perhaps  because  of  the  natural  beauty  of  the 
silk.  Many  hats  are  made  with  combinations  of  silk 
or  with  a  brim  lining  of  silk,  silk  bows,  or  ribbons. 
Hat  linings  are  of  thin  unweighted  silks,  such  as  China 
silks,  mercerized  cotton,  or  soft  taffeta,  that  wear  well, 
stand  pin  holes,  and  give  the  hat  a  good  finish. 

Other  Fabric  Hats 

Every  year  sees  new  varieties  of  fabric  hats,  made 
of  chiffon,  tulle,  maline,  cotton  crepes,  georgettes,  silk 


68  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

ginghams,  pongees,  lace,  net,  silver  cloth,  and  cloth  of 
gold.  Outing  types,  as  the  so-called  sport  hats,  are 
simple  in  trimming  and  finish,  often  stiff  in  out- 
line, and  made  of  such  materials  as  crash,  duck, 
eponge,  linen,  rep,  etc.  High-grade  linen  hats  are 
hand-blocked  in  the  factories.  The  most  expensive 
linen  or  cotton  hats  are  made  in  workrooms,  and  in 
some  years  hardly  appear  ,at  all.  Embroidered  hats 
follow  the  fashion. 

In  material,  form,  and  general  style,  fabric  hats  vary 
every  season.  They  form  a  most  important  part  of 
the  millinery  trade.  A  study  of  textiles  would  be  help- 
ful to  anyone  who  wishes  to  become  well  informed  on 
the  subject  of  fabric  hats.  (See  manuals  for  the 
"  Silk  "  and  "  Cotton  and  Linen  "  Departments.) 

New  Materials 

An  illustration  of  the  new  materials  that  are  brought 
out  now  and  then  for  hats  is  Pontine,  a  fabric  manu- 
factured by  the  Dupont  Powder  Mills.  This  material 
has  a  silk  or  satin  surface  on  one  side,  usually  of  some 
pretty  color,  and  on  the  other  side  resembles  leather. 
It  is  made  from  the  waste  obtained  in  the  manufacture 
of  gunpowder.  Its  water-proof,  light,  flexible  qual- 
ities make  it  a  desirable  material  not  only  for  hats  but 
for  other  purposes,  such  as  motor  coats.  Whether 
this  article  and  other  novelty  materials  will  win  a  per* 


VELVET  AND  OTHER  FABRIC  HATS    69 

manent  place  on  the  market  and  have  a  steady  demand 
yearly,  remains  to  be  seen. 

Fur  Hats 

Whole  hats  and  parts  of  hats  are  made  of  fur  for 
winter  wear.  A  few  appear  even  in  the  extreme 
southern  part  of  the  United  States.  Several  kinds  of 
fur  were  mentioned  in  Chapter  VI. 

Fur  hats  are  usually  close-fitting  and  small,  or  else 
the  crown  only  is  covered  with  fur,  because  of  the 
warmth  and  bulk  of  the  fur.  Some  furs  are  heavy, 
but  the  lighter  varieties  are  most  used.  White  fur  is 
popular  for  dressy  hats.  Much  more  fur  is  used  in 
trimming  than  in  body  hats.  Fur  is  used  in  band, 
crowns,  tufts,  or  brims  are  faced  with  fur. 

Miscellaneous  Fabrics 

Hats  are  also  made  whole,  or  in  part  of  velour, 
moire,  satin  cire,  Angora  cloth,  duvetyne,  hatter's  plush, 
bullion  cloths,  metallic  cloths,  jet  cloth,  celophane 
combined  with  metallic  threads,  panne,  French  kid, 
wool,  taffeta,  satin,  georgette,  and  others.  Some,  of 
these,  such  as  wool  and  Angora  cloth,  leather,  or  imita- 
tion leather,  are  for  sport  hats. 


Chapter  VIII 

HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FEATHERS 

Varieties 

Every  season  brings  change  and  variety  in  the 
trimming  of  hats.  Some  fashions  return  after  a  few 
years;  others  are  eliminated  permanently.  It  is  an 
old  proverb  that  a  fashion  returns  after  seven  years, 
but  like  many  proverbs  this  is  merely  a  suggestion  of 
the  truth  and  must  not  be  taken  too  literally. 

The  standard  trimmings  for  hats  are: 

Feathers 

Flowers  and  fruit 
Ribbons 
Ornaments 

Other  trimmings  include: 

Lace  , 

Maline 

Chiffon 

Fur 

Leather 

Beads 

Yarn 

TO 


HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FEATHERS  71 

Feathers  are  found  in  many  forms,  including  wings, 
quills,  tails,  bands,  aigrettes,  pompons,  pads,  and 
plumes. 

Flowers  are  arranged  singly  and  in  wreaths,  sprays, 
and  bunches,  with  or  without  foliage. 

How  Style  Is  Influenced 

Style  in  trimmings  follows  public  interest  in  many 
cases.  If  the  attention  of  the  country  is  centered  for 
any  reason  on  the  Orient,  Chinese  ornaments  may 
come  into  vogue.  A  play  or  a  popular  actress  may 
introduce  a  fashion  in  hats.  Some  years  ago  colors 
and  designs  followed  Persian  effects,  and  later  Bul- 
garian designs,  when  the  Balkan  wars  were  in  progress. 
When  a  pope  died  a  number  of  years  ago,  "  eminence 
purple"  became  fashionable.  The  recent  war  gave  a 
military  slant  to  all  fashions. 

The  Story  of  Trimmings 

The  story  of  trimmings  for  hats  is  perhaps  as  an- 
cient as  the  story  of  hats,  and  not  a  great  deal  is 
known  about  it.  A  few  facts  are  certain.  For  in- 
stance, the  question  has  often  been  asked  why  trim- 
ming tends  to  be  placed  more  often  on  the  left  side  of 
a  hat  than  upon  the  right?  In  olden  days  when  men 
wore  velvet  bonnets  with  plumes  and  carried  a  sword 
which  they  might  be  called  upon  at  any  time  to  use, 


72  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

there  was  danger  in  having  the  sweeping  plume  on  the 
right  side.  If  the  knight  were  on  horseback  and  had 
an  encounter  with  an  adversary,  his  sword  might  catch 
in  his  own  plume,  unhorse  him,  and  cause  his  over- 
throw. Hence  plumes  and  trimmings  were  worn  on 
the  left  side. 

For  centuries  men  dressed  in  much  brighter  colors 
than  they  do  at  present,  and  wore  hats  with  trimmings. 
Their  dress,  as  we  know  it,  was  standardized  in  the 
early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  and  all  ornaments 
passed  over  to  women.  Men  love  color.  Even  yet 
many  of  our  leading  hat  designers  are'men,  although 
the  number  of  women  in  the  important  positions  in  the 
trade  is  increasing. 

Feathers 

Feathers  are  suitable  for  all  seasons,  as  they  are 
always  attractive;  and  since  they  are  of  animal  fiber 
and  designed  by  nature  to  stand  all  kinds  of  weather, 
they  usually  wear  well.  The  kinds  in  general  use  are 
those  of  the  ostrich,  vulture,  peacock,  goose^igeon, 
duck,  guinea-fowl,  barnyard  fowl,  owl,  pheasant,  and 
parrot. 

Until  recently,  a  study  of  feathers  would  have  in- 
cluded many  wild  birds  from  this  country  and  else- 
where, but  a  United  States  law  has  prohibited  the 
importation  of  both  wild  and  song  birds  and  in  ad- 


HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FEATHERS  73 

dition  many  states,  influenced  largely  by  Audubon  so- 
cieties and  other  organizations  for  the  conservation  of 
wild  life,  have  prohibited  the  sale  of  certain  feathers, 
so  that  in  the  future  such  plumes  as  those  of  the  osprey 
and  the  egret  will  be  rarely  seen. 

Only  ostrich,  domestic,  and  game  birds  are  left  to 
furnish  plumage  for  the  millinery  trade.  There  is 
supposed  to  be,  however,  enough  raw  stock  left  in  the 
country  to  supply  the  demands  of  several  seasons. 
The  plumage  of  the  bird  of  paradise,  gourah,  numadie, 
heron,  and  egret  is  used  principally  in  the  aigrette 
form. 

Treatment  of  Feathers 

Feathers  are  put  through  various  processes  before 
they  are  ready  for  branching  or  pasting.  In  the  final 
forms  they  are  known  to  the  trade  as  plumes,  pom- 
pons, aigrettes,  breasts,  wings,  pads,  bands  (to  encircle 
the  crown  or  to  outline  the  Srim),  and  quills.  A  table 
follows,  showing  what  kinds  of  feathers  are  made  up 
into  each  of  the  various  forms  of  branching  or  past- 
ing. 

Ostrich  Feathers 

The  ostrich,  which  is  now  bred  for  commercial  pur- 
poses on  large  farms,  was  formerly  a  native  of  the 
deserts  of  Africa  and  Arabia:  It  is  a  very  large  bird; 


74  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 


<u 

bo         .2 

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C/l 

rt 

M 

*O           C 
rt           ctf 
PL,        PQ 

bjo 

a     .55 

O          fS  .  -^ 

ex      oT  i>     J2 
5      ^.Sf    *3 

Ostrich 

X 

X 

X                           X 

Vulture 

X 

X 

X            X 

Paradise 

X 

X 

X 

Numadie 

X 

Gourah  * 

X 

X 

Heron 

X            X 

Egret 

X             X 

Peacock 

X 

X 

X             X 

X 

Pheasant 

X 

X 

X             X 

Parrot 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Guinea-fowl 

X 

X 

X             X 

X 

Pigeon 

X 

X 

X 

Goose 

X            X 

X 

X            X 

X  f         X 

Duck 

X 

X 

X 

Turkey 

X 

X 

X 

X                             X 

Bafnyard  Fowl 

X 

X 

"  Spanish  Coq  " 

X 

X             X 

*  Gourah;  plain,  the  female;  Imperial   (with  eye  in  plumage),  the  male. 
t  Soft   side   feathers.     The   larger   breast   feathers   of   the   goose   are   tech- 
nically called  "  Nagoire." 

an  adult  male  weighs  300  pounds  and  can  look  over  a 
fence  9  feet  high.  The  female  is  gray,  the  male  black 
with  wings  and  tail  bordered  in  white. 

The  ostrich  has  the  reputation  of  being  a  very  stupid 
bird,  which  thinks  to  escape  its  enemies  by  hiding  its 
head  only.  '  The  fact  seems  to  be  that  the  bird,  scent- 


HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FEATHERS  75 

ing  danger  from  afar,  conceals  itself  in  a  shadow,  its 
head  behind  a  rock  if  possible.  It  is  now  said,  indeed, 
that  when  the  head  is  concealed  the  bird  is  practically 
invisible,  as  the  body  blends  with  the  color  of  the  sand, 
and  so  the  device  is  really  clever.  At  any  rate,  other 
habits,  for  example  its  skill  in  concealing  its  nest, 
show  no  lack~of  cleverness. 

A  few  hens  and  one  cock  make  and  guard  one  nest 
of  eggs,  feeding  the  one  or  two  dozen  young  birds 
that  hatch  upon  the  extra  eggs  which  the  hens  have 
scattered  about  the  nest  in  the  sand.  The  heat  of  the 
sun  does  most  of  the  hatching  in  the  deserts,  but  the 
ostrich  broods  in  addition,  probably  to  protect  the  eggs. 

Ostrich  Farms 

Ostrich  farms  are  conducted  in  Cape  Colony,  South 
Africa,  and  in  California  and  the  western  states.  Fig- 
ure 6  gives  a  view  of  a  large  number  of  ostriches  on 
an  ostrich  farm.  At  regular  intervals  the  birds  are 
deprived  of  their  plumes.  The  first  feathers  are 
plucked  when  the  bird  is  a  year  old.  They  increase  in 
beauty  and  value  until  the  fifth  year,  and  are  good  for 
many  years  afterward.  Three  hundred  feathers  may 
be  taken  from  a  single  ostrich. 

The  plucking  must  be  done  very  carefully  in  order 
that  new  plumes  may  grow.  The  feathers  are  graded 
and  sold  by  weight. 


76  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

The  varieties  of  feathers  obtained  from  the  ostrich 
are  as  follows : 

Floss  —  under  the  wing  feathers,  used  for  bgas, 
muffs,  trimmings,  fancy  pompons,  and  head 
dress. 

Booze  —  tail  feathers,  used  to  fill  in. 

Byax  —  wing  feathers,  used  for  tips. 

Long —  (first  grade)  wing  feathers,  black  and 
pure  white  from  the  male.  Three  or  four  raw 
feathers  are  put  together  to  make  an  ostrich 
plume,  the  stems  being  carefully  shaved  down 
so  that  they  may  not  be  too  thick. 

Chicks.  The  feathers  of  young  birds  are  used 
for  imitation  aigrettes  and  birds  of  paradise. 
The  flue  is  burned  away  by  chemicals. 

Spade  —  body  feather  before  it  becomes  fully  de- 
veloped. The  top  is  not  filled  out. 

Male  and  female  feathers.  Black  and  pure  white 
feathers  are  from  the  male  bird.  Feathers 
from  the  female  are  gray  or  mixed. 

Bleached  feather,  ready  for  dyeing. 

Forms  of  Ostrich  Feathers 

Ostrich  feathers  are  made  up  principally  in  plumes, 
tips  (small  plume  feathers),  pompons,  and  bands. 
The  plumes  are  usually  two-  or  three-ply,  that  is,  of 


HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FEATHERS  77 

two  or  three  feathers.  When  three-ply  the  inner  fill- 
ing is  composed  of  shorter  lengths. 

A  plume  may  be  curled  at  different  times  to  give 
the  effect  of  different  sizes  according  to  the  demands 
of  fashion.  A  tight  curl  will  naturally  give  a  nar- 
rower appearance  than  a  broad  or  full  curl.  The 
length  of  a  plume  is  frequently  deceptive  as  the  head 
may  be  curled  over,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent. 

Willow  plumes  were  very  popular  a  few  years  ago. 
Each  tiny  feathery  fiber  is  lengthened  by  having  several 
lengths  of  the  same  kind  knotted  to  it,  a  tedious,  fine, 
hand  process.  The  result  is  a  plume  with  long,  sweep- 
ing feathers. 

Plumes  are  measured  from  the  stem  where  the  flue 
begins  to  the  tip  of  the  head.  -The  width  is  deter- 
mined by  laying  the  plume  perfectly  flat  and  measuring 
its  total  width  at  a  point  about  in  the  center.  Ostrich 
feathers  are  frequently  treated  with  acid  and  glycerin 
to  give  a  much  thinner  appearance  to  the  flue.  When 
so  treated  they  are  generally  used  in  aigrette  form  or 
branched  in  some  novel  way.  This  is  called  burnt 
ostrich. 

Dyeing  Ostrich  Feathers 

If  the  color  is  to  be  light,  the  dye  liquor  may  be  cold, 
but  darker  shades  require  cold  water  first,  and  then 
slow  heating  until  the  water  is  very  hot  —  though 


78  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

never  boiling.  The  quill  and  butt,  or  end,  of  the 
feather  are  dyed  first,  and  later  the  tip  and  flues,  be- 
cause the  former  parts  may  take  twenty  or  thirty 
minutes  to  absorb  the  color,  whereas  the  tip  and  flues 
will  take  the  dye  in  two  minutes.  If  the  stem  does  not 
take  the  color  thoroughly  enough,  it  has  to  be  painted 
afterwards.  After  a  thorough  rinsing  in  warm  water 
the  feathers  are  partly  dried  by  soft  rubbing  with  a 
cloth,  then  laid  on  paper  and  covered  with  powdered 
dry  starch.  The  starch  is  gently  beaten  and  shaken 
out,  and  the  process  repeated  until  the  starch  is  fully 
removed  and  the  flues  fluffed  out.  If  starch  paste 
forms  on  the  feather  it  may  ruin  it,  or  if  too  much  dry 
starch  remains  on  the  flues  the  feather  may  look  woolly 
and  have  to  be  redampened  and  starched  over  again. 
Wet  starching,  a  process  employed  by  professional 
dyers,  consists  in  rubbing  the  feather  in  a  milky  mix- 
ture of  cold  starch  and  water  (not  a  paste),  then  dry- 
ing by  running  it  between  folds  of  cheese-cloth  through 
a  wringer,  and  placing  it  in  a  [warm  room  or  sunlight. 
When  thoroughly  dry  the  starch  is  beaten  out  gently 
on  the  edge  of  a  table. 

Black  Dye 

The  secrets  of  the  black  dyeing  of  feathers  are  kept 
by  good  dyers ;  but  the  process  with  logwood  dye, 
which  is  the  best,  takes  about  six  days.  The  methods 


HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FEATHERS  79 

of  dyeing,  except  for  the  black  feathers,  are  quite  sim- 
ple. The  feathers  are  dyed  in  small  quantities.  Acid 
dye  stuffs,  either  formic  or  oxalic  acid,  are  best  in 
color  and  fastness.  If  the  feathers  are  not  bleached 
before  dyeing,  they  are  washed  thoroughly  in  castile 
soap  and  water  and  rinsed.  They  are  then  soaked  in 
hot  water  half  an  hour  to  get  the  stems  and  quills  soft 
enough  to  take  the  dye  well. 

Feathers  are  often  painted  with  oil  paint  and  gaso- 
line, but  the  color  rubs  off  and  there  is  danger  of  plas- 
tering the  tiny  barbules  together  if  the  paint  is  too 
thick.  Barred  or  stenciled  effects  may  be  obtained  by 
painting. 

Shaded  effects  are  made  by  first  dyeing  the  whole 
feather  in  a  weak  bath,  and  then  strengthening  the 
color  gradually  as  the  feather  is  withdrawn  bit  by  bit. 
Only  the  end  is  put  into  the  last  and  darkest  bath  of 
dye. 

After  steaming,  the  feather  is  curled  by  hand  with 
a  special  knife. 

Vulture  Wings 

The  vulture,  a  large  naked-headed  bird  of  prey,  is 
found  in  many  countries,  including  Arabia,  Egypt, 
Africa,  and  America.  The  large  wing  feathers  are 
admirable  for  quills  when  that  trimming  is  in  vogue. 
The  other  plumage  of  the  vulture  resembles  that  of  the 


8o  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

ostrich  chick  and  is  principally  used  in  aigrette  effects 
after  it  has  been  treated  with  acid  and  glycerin.  The 
longer  fiber  vulture  plumage  is  frequently  used  to  imi- 
tate numadie. 

Peacock  and  Pheasant 

Peacocks  are  raised  in  Europe  and  are  native  to 
India,  Ceylon,  and  Malay.  Formerly  the  peacock  was 
eaten  but  is  now  used  for  the  plumage,  or  as  an  orna- 
mental bird.  In  ancient  Greece  the  peacock  was  sacred 
to  the  goddess  Juno,  and  later  was  used  in  Christian 
Byzantine  art  as  a  symbol  of  the  resurrection. 

The  long-tailed  pheasant  has  been  introduced  into 
the  United  States  from  Asia  and  Europe.  The  plum- 
age of  the  male  bird  is  very  brilliant.  The  longer  tail- 
feathers  of  the  peacock  and  pheasant  are  frequently 
used  in  their  natural  state,  or  sometimes  burnt  with 
acid. 

They  may  be  used  as  separate  feathers  to  encircle 
the  crown  or  to  outline  the  brim,  or  may  be  placed  at 
some  odd  angle  on  the  hat.  They  are  frequently  used 
in  aigrette  form  after  they  have  been  burned  with  acid. 
The  breast  feathers  of  these  birds  make  excellent  pads 
or  breasts.  The  peacock  in  this  form  is  invariably 
used  in  its  undyed  state,  whereas  the  pheasant  is  fre- 
quently dyed. 

The  Lady  Amherst  pheasant  is  specially  popular. 


HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FEATHERS  8l 

Wild  Duck,  Parrot,  and  Guinea-fowl 

The  plumage  of  the  wild  duck,  parrot,  parrokeet  (a 
small  parrot),  and  the  mottled  plumage  of  the  guinea- 
fowl  are  generally  used  in  their  natural  undyed  state 
in  the  form  of  wings,  pads,  and  breasts,  as  these 
feathers  are  excellent  for  pasting.  Sometimes  they 
are  used  alone  but  not  infrequently  they  are  combined 
with  pigeon  or  fowl  feathers  of  a  solid  color,  thus 
forming  an  attractive  color  contrast.  The  pointer,  or 
long  wing  feathers,  of  these  birds  are  used  to  supple- 
ment their  small  feathers  in  making  wings. 

Pigeon 

The  pigeon  is  found  in  almost  all  parts  of  the 
world,  and  there  are  many  domestic  breeds.  The  fine 
breast  feathers  of  the  pigeon,  technically  known  as 
"  rond,"  are  used  for  making  the  finest  of  pads,  breasts, 
and  pasted  bands.  They,  together  with  pigeon  pointer 
feathers,  are  also  used  for  making  the  costlier  wings 
in  small  and  medium  sizes. 

Fowl 

Wild  fowl  of  all  kinds  contribute  largely  to  the  crop 
of  feathers.  Domestic  fowl,  including  goose,  duck, 
turkey,  and  barnyard  fowl,  or  chicken,  are  very  much 
used  in  European  countries  and  now  also  in  America. 
Such  fowl  are  raised  almost  as  much  for  their  feather 


82  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

value  as  for  their  meat  value.  This  is  particularly 
true  of  the  pure  white  varieties  which  can  be  easily 
dyed  and  treated.  The  feathers  of  such  birds  are 
burnt  with  acid,  dyed,  and  made  into  all  sorts  of  ai- 
grette effects.  If  not  burnt  they  are  used  in  making 
wings,  pompons,  pads,  breasts,  and  bands.  Their  long 
pointer  wing  feathers,  in  addition  to  being  useful  for 
finishing  made  wings,  are  also  excellent  for  single 
quills. 

"  Spanish  Coq  "  and  Hackle 

The  saddle  feathers,  the  long  slender  feathers  which 
droop  from  each  side  of  the  saddle  of  the  barnyard 
cock,  are  commonly  known  as  hackle  feathers.  When 
dyed  various  shades  they  have  an  attractive  brilliancy 
and  are  employed  principally  for  breasts  and  pads, 
though  sometimes  they  are  used  to  give  finish  to  wings 
and  in  pompon  effects.  The  dark  bronze  green  tail 
feathers  of  the  barnyard  cocks  of  certain  breeds  are 
valuable  for  pompons  and  sweeping  aigrette  effects. 
These  are  particularly  durable  since  they  are  in- 
variably branched  with  wires  and  not  pasted  in  the 
process  of  manufacture.  COQ_  is  a  shaded  tail  of 
feathers.  Coq  is  also  spelled  "coque." 

Some  of  the  birds  of  which  importation  is  now  for- 
bidden are  still  used.  A  few  words  about  the  most 
important  of  them  follow. 


HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FEATHERS  83 

Egret  or  Aigret  (a  kind  of  Heron) 

Many  people  object  to  the  use  of  the  true  aigrette 
plumes  because  they  are  the  nuptial  plumes  of  the  white 
egret.  This  small  white  heron  formerly  Hyed^  in 
swamp  lands,  from  Florida  to  as  far  north  as  New 
Jersey.  It  has  been  practically  exterminated  in  North 
America,  although  it  still  exists  in  South  America, 
whence  many  lawless  hunters  try  to  smuggle  the  sprays 
into  the  United  States.  The  plumes  of  the  crest  grow 
only  when  the  mother  bird  is  tending  her  helpless 
young. 

The  "  dead  feathers  "  which  naturally  fall  from  the 
crest  are  not  very  desirable,  so  the  hunters,  not  satis- 
fied with  these,  tear  the  crest  from  the  bird's  head,  thus 
obtaining  what  is  technically  known  as  "  live  feathers." 
The  hunters  either  kill  the  bird  or  leave  her  to  die, 
while  the  young  in  the  nest  die  also.  One  crest  has 
about  forty  plumes. 

There  have  been  very  bitter  legal  fights  about  ai- 
grettes in  almost  every  state.  The  spray  is  so  beauti- 
ful and  delicate,  as  well  as  so  strong  and  graceful, 
that  it  has  been  hard  for  beauty-loving  women  to  give 
them  up,  and  the  price  they  bring  —  a  single  plume 
often  costing  hundreds  of  dollars  —  tempts  hunters 
to  get  them.  Imitations  are  rapidly  taking  their 
place. 


84  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Bird  of  Paradise 

In  1521  the  bird  of  paradise  was  introduced  into 
Europe  from  New  Guinea  and  adjacent  islands.  It 
received  its  name  because  it  was  supposed  never  to 
alight  upon  the  earth,  but  to  live  in  the  sunlight  in 
some  miraculous  manner.  The  reason  for  this  fancy 
was  that  the  feet  had  been  removed  from  the  first  skins 
sent  to  Europe. 

The  plumage  of  the  male  is  of  great  beauty  and 
of  an  odd  shape,  the  two  delicate  long  feathers  ex- 
tending from  under  the  wings  far  beyond  the  tail 
have  a  tufted  feathery  tip  like  a  question  mark  at  the 
end. 

Some  birds  of  paradise  are  green  in  color,  while 
others  are  of  velvety  red  with  plumes  of  purple  tipped 
with  green.  Natives  kill  them  with  blunt-headed  ar- 
rows during  the  courting  season.  The  skins  are  cured 
by  smoking  and  sent  to  market. 

Other  Wild  Birds  Used  for  Hat  Trimming 

The  gourah  is  a  species  of  pigeon,  living  upon  the 
ground  and  known  as  the  crown-pigeon.  It  comes 
from  the  islands  of  New  Guinea  or  Papua.  The  emu, 
a  large  ostrich-like  bird,  comes  from  Australia. 
Storks,  which  are  a  kind  of  heron,  have  been  used  for 
plumage  also.  The  marabou  stork  lives  in  India. 


Chapter  IX 
HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FL  OWERS 

Sources  of  Artificial  Flowers 

Until  recent  years  almost  all  fine  flowers  were  made 
abroad,  chiefly  in  France.  The  Italians  were  the  first 
people  in  Europe  to  excel  in  the  art  of  flower-making, 
and  later  the  French  became  very  proficient.  Ger- 
many and  Austria  made  a  great  many  of  the  lower 
priced  ones. 

Almost  all  small  flowers,  such  as  forget-me-nots, 
heliotrope,  verbenas,  lilacs,  and  wisteria  were  made  in 
E.urope  until  the  war.  Since  then  they  have  been  well 
made  in  the  United  States,  for  the  most  part  in  and 
about  New  York,  Philadelphia,  St.  Louis  and  Chicago. 
Violets,  however,  have  long  been  made  here  by  Ital- 
ians. Roses  and  other  fine  flowers  are  made  here  also. 

In  former  years  much  artificial  flower-making  was 
performed  by  sweat-shop  labor  in  places  which  were 
often  unsanitary.  In  English  trade  schools  fifty  years 
ago  children  were  taught  the  craft  and  allowed  to  work 
as  soon  as  they  were  able  to  move  their  fingers  accu- 
rately, even  at  the  early  age  of  three.  It  is  a  relief  to 

85 


86  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

know  that  today  most  of  the  work  has  been  taken  over 
by  factories.  It  is  hard  to  supervise  the  sanitary  con- 
ditions under  which  work  is  done  in  homes. 

Flower  Materials 

The  materials  generally  used  in  flower-making  are 
muslin,  silk,  satin,  velvet,  and  velveteen;  but  tinsel- 
cloth,  ribbon,  chenille,  leather,  celluloid,  straw,  crepe, 
felt,  and  feathers  are  also  occasionally  seen.  The 
great  majority  of  flowers  are  made  of  a  thin,  fine  mus- 
lin such  as  batiste  or  nainsook. 

Stiffening  and  Cutting  Out 

The  white  muslin  is  first  stretched  on  a  frame  and 
brushed  with  a  mixture  of  starch  and  gelatin  to  stiffen 
it  and  to  give  the  proper  finish.  The  patterns  of  the 
flowers  are  then  cut  out.  If  they  are  to  be  "  specialty  " 
flowers,  they  are  cut  out  by  means  of  a  die  pounded  by 
hand  with  a  heavy  mallet,  but  the  less  expensive  ones 
are  stamped  out  by  machine.  The  layers  of  stiffened 
cloth  are  placed  one  above  another  and  from  half  a 
dozen  to  seventy-two  petals  may  be  cut  at  one  time. 

Dyeing 

They  are  then  separated  and  dyed  in  bowls  accord- 
ing to  a  color  chart  which,  in  the  better  factories,  comes 
from  Paris.  The  shading  is  done  by  dipping  a  brush 


HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FLOWERS  87 

into  a  deeper  color  and  touching  the  flowers  with  it 
while  they  are  still  wet.  The  color  spreads  and  shades 
off  in  a  very  natural  way.  Fine  flowers  are  finished 
with  a  stencil,  or  are  hand-painted.  The  finished 
petals  are  laid  on  sheets  of  blotting  paper  and  dried 
either  in  the  air  or  in  ovens  by  artificial  heat. 

Making 

Many  Eowers  are  cut  in  flat  circular  pieces  with  a 
hole  in  the  center  and  the  petals  only  partly  formed. 
These  are  called  "  slip-ups."  The  flower-maker  takes 
a  bunch  of  "  peps  "  or  flower  seed  pods,  which  come 
already  prepared,  and  fastens  them  to  a  wire.  She 
then  slips  the  number  of  circles  required  upon  the  wire, 
puts  on  a  little  paste,  and  finishes  off  the  stem.  If 
flowers  are  cut  in  separate  petals,  these  petals  must  be 
pasted  on  one  at  a  time.  When  separate  petals  are  cut 
they  are  pinched  into  shape  or  "  goffered  "  with  pincers 
or  a  hot  iron  to  give  them  a  natural  curl.  The  slight 
pull  and  twist  which  an  expert  can  give  a  rose  leaf 
changes  it  from  a  flat  piece  of  muslin  into  a  perfectly 
curved  petal. 

The  stamping  machine  also  cuts  out,  dyes,  and  veins 
the  leaves.  The  stems  are  wound  with  some  ma- 
terial or  covered  with  a  tube  of  green  rubber  com- 
position. 

There  are  various  finishing  processes,  such  as  gum- 


88  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

ming,  waxing,  and  dusting.  Powdered  glass  gives  a 
frosted  effect.  Fine  cambric  is  used  to  a  great  extent 
for  petals,  and  silk  in  expensive  flowers,  with  some- 
times a  gauzy  net  backing  to  give  strength  and  shape. 
Taffeta  and  velvet  are  much  used  for  leaves. 

The  flowers  made  in  this  country  are  not  yet 
equal  to  the  best  French  flowers,  as  we  are  not  willing 
to  give  the  time  necessary  to  do  artistic  work.  In 
France  the  workman  is  an  artist  who  imitates  nature 
as  carefully  as  if  he  were  painting  a  picture.  The 
last  touches  are  put  on  with  the  living  model  before 
him  or  from  a  perfect  copy.  A  flower-maker  is 
usually  kept  at  work  on  one  kind  of  flower,  i.e.,  a  rose- 
maker  always  makes  roses  and  a  violet-maker  violets. 
They  naturally  become  very  expert,  but  operators  who 
are  constantly  changing  their  work  cannot  produce 
such  results. 

How  Flowers  Come  to  the  Milliner 

There  are  a  number  of  forms  in  which  flowers  come 
to  the  milliner  for  use.  They  are  put  up  singly,  or  in 
bunches,  sprays,  clusters,  or  groups  of  one  kind  to  be 
opened  and  used  as  desired  by  the  trimmer ;  or  flowers 
and  foliage  which  blend  as  to  kind  and  color  are  com- 
bined in  wreaths,  bouquets,  or  clusters,  thus  forming 
a  trimming  ready  to  be  applied  without  further  blend- 
ing or  combining  on  the  part  of  the  milliner. 


HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FLOWERS  89 

The  kinds  of  flowers  in  general  use  may  be  classed : 

Roses 

Field  flowers 

Applique  flowers 

Violets 

Small  flowers 

Odd  flowers 

Rare  flowers 

Natural  flowers 

Foliage 

Fruits 

Roses 

Roses  come  in  large,  medium,  and  small  June  sizes. 
They  are  crushed  for  applique  trimming  with  or  with- 
out foliage,  with  or  without  combinations,  with  for- 
get-me-nots, cowslips,  or  similar  small  flowers.  Amer- 
ican Beauty,  LaFrance,  Neron,  cabbage,  or  other 
round  or  flat  shapes  with  either  foliage  or  ribbon,  or 
both,  are  used  for  trimmings  of  softer  effects.  They 
are  sometimes  combined  with  other  flowers  in  wreaths 
or  standing  clusters.  June  roses  are  used  principally 
for  children's  or  misses'  hats  or  for  mixing  in  tight  bou- 
quets. 

Field  Flowers 

Poppies,    bluets,    daisies,    buttercups,    and   pansies 


90  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

vary  greatly  as  to  size.  Large  single  daisies  and  pop- 
pies are  frequently  used  for  appliques.  Field  flowers 
are  generally  used,  however,  in  combination,  fre- 
quently with  foliage.  The  small  and  medium  sizes 
are  almost  always  used  for  misses',  children's,  and 
sport  hats ;  although  the  dainty,  small  clusters  are  used 
on  the  dressier  styles  as  well. 

Applique  Flowers 

Dahlias,  asters,  camelias,  gardenias,  chrysanthe- 
mums, and  poppies  are  used  almost  altogether  in  ap- 
plique. 

Violets 

Parma,  wood,  and  Russian  violets  are  frequently 
combined  with  roses  or  other  flowers,  and  are  used 
principally  on  early  spring  hats.  Trimmings  of  all 
violets  are  usually  confined  to  matrons'  hats,  except 
occasionally  in  outlining  the  edge  of  a  large,  drooping 
brim. 

Small  Flowers 

Forget-me-nots,  heliotropes,  verbenas,  cowslips, 
primroses,  lilies  of  the  valley,  hyacinths,  etc.,  and 
blossoms  are  generally  used  in  combination  with  other 
flowers,  either  as  the  basis  of  trimming  or  in  branch- 
ing. 


HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  FLOWERS  91 

Odd  Flowers 

Lilacs,  wisteria,  orchids,  hydrangeas,  and  sweet  peas 
are  used  at  times.  These  are  especially  subject  to  the 
changes  of  fashion;  sometimes  they  are  in  great  de- 
mand and  in  some  seasons  not  employed  at  all.  While 
they  are  frequently  used  as  the  basic  trimming,  they 
are  generally  combined  with  other  flowers.!  They  are 
especially  adapted  to  toque  and  turban  trimmings,1  al- 
though when  in  style  they  are  used  on  hats  of  various 
shapes.  Nasturtiums,  apple  blossoms,  and  baby's 
breath  are  also  used  somewhat. 

Rare  Flowers 

Narcissi,  fuchsias,  jonquils,  water  lilies,  and  pond 
lilies  are  not  very  generally  used,  but  when  fashionable 
they  offer  a  decided  relief  from  the  more  conventional 
kinds  of  artificial  flowers. 

Natural  Flowers 

Natural  ferns,  sea  moss,  wheat,  and  mignonette  are 
often  used  after  being  dried  and  treated.  Most  of 
these  are  also  reproduced  artificially. 

Foliage 

Foliage  of  all  kinds  is  used  in  branching  the  various 
flowers  with  which  it  is  found  in  nature.  In  some 
seasons,  however,  entire  hats  or  entire  crowns  are 


92  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

made  of  foliage,  or  the  crown  edges  or  the  brims  are 
outlined  with  foliage.  Entire  hats  are  also  made  of 
flowers  which  are  sewed  flat  to  the  frames  and  relieved 
with  a  little  satin  or  velvet  ribbon  or  an  aigrette. 

Fruits 

Several  kinds  of  fruits,  such  as  grapes,  cherries, 
small  apples,  peaches,  and  oranges,  are  used  in  trim- 
mings. 


Chapter  X 

HAT  TRIMMINGS  —  RIBBONS,  BANDS,  AND 
ORNAMENTS 

Silk  Ribbons 

Ribbons  are  usually  made  of  silk,  and  so  a  few 
words  about  that  material  and  the  comparison  of 
weaves  follow.  (For  a  more  exhaustive  treatment  of 
the  subject,  see  the  chapter  on  "  Ribbons "  in  the 
manual  for  the  "  Silk  Department.") 

Silk  is  the  strongest,  most  beautiful,  elastic,  and 
durable  of  all  the  important  textile  fibers  used  for  the 
manufacture  of  cloth.  The  story  of  the  cultivation 
of  the  silk-worm  is  familiar  to  all  of  us.  It  is  fed  on 
mulberry  leaves  for  about  five  weeks,  then  it  spins  a 
cocoon  from  which  a  gauzy  thread  averaging  2,000 
feet  in  length  can  be  unwound.  The  moth  must  not 
be  allowed  to  escape  and  so  he  is  killed  by  heat  before 
the  time  has  arrived  at  which  he  is  due  to  emerge 
from  the  cocoon.  Hot  water  softens  the  gum  with 
which  the  silk-worm  cemented  the  cocoon,  in  a  "  de- 
gumming  "  process  employed  by  the  manufacturer. 

93 


94  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Then  the  silk  can  easily  be  unwound.  The  outer  fuzzy 
silk  and  the  weak  fiber  from  the  very  center  of  the 
cocoon  are  inferior  in  quality  and  are  used  in  the 
cheaper  grades  of  silk.  Sometimes  the  cocoons  are 
pierced  by  escaping  moths  and  these  too  make  inferior 
silk.  Under  the  chapter  on  silk  in  body  hats  was  dis- 
cussed the  question  of  the  loading  or  weighting  of 
silk,  and  the  resulting  damage  to  the  wearing  qualities 
of  the  silk. 

Weaves 

The  simple  or  tabby  weave  found  in  silks  such  as 
taffeta  is  the  simplest  of  all  weaves,  and  it  wears  very 
well.  Two-tone  ribbons  are  made  in  this  way,  but  the 
lengthwise,  or  warp,  threads  are  a  different  color  from 
the  crosswise  ones. 

Satin  ribbon,  if  of  a  cheap  grade,  is  likely  to  catch 
and  roughen,  for  a  large  number  of  the  crosswise  or 
filling  threads  are  on  the  surface  of  the  cloth  to  give 
greater  luster. 

Ribbons  with  a  ribbed  effect  in  the  weave,  such  as 
faille  or  grosgrain,  usually  have  cotton  or  wool  yarn 
in  the  concealed  bars  which  go  into  the  filling  of  the 
ribbon.  They  wear  well,  except  in  the  cheaper  grades, 
in  which  they  tend  to  wear  out  along  the  bars  as  the 
silk  warp  threads  are  not  thick  and  strong  enough  to 
stand  the  rubbing  along  the  heavy  filling. 


RIBBONS,  BANDS,  AND  ORNAMENTS         95 

Plaids  and  stripes  are  made  by  using  different 
colored  threads  for  the  variations  of  the  pat- 
tern. 

Velvet  ribbons,  woven  with  an  extra  warp,  which 
is  sheared  to  make  the  pile,  are  of  varying  grades. 
The  backs  are  usually  of  cotton,  but  in  the  finest  grades 
Of  velvet  ribbon,  the  backs  are  of  silk  with  a  satin  fin- 
ish. This  ribbon  makes  beautiful  bows. 

Velvet  brocade  ribbon  is  unusual,  but  exceptionally 
handsome.  Silk  brocades  of  the  Jacquard  or  pattern 
weave  are  much  used  many  seasons.  These  are  made 
on  the  complicated  Tacquard  loom  which  weaves  intri- 
cate patterns. 

Ribbon  Patterns 

The  changing  demands  of  fashion. govern  the  uses 
of  ribbon,  deciding  not  only  the  quantity  required  for 
trimming  but  also  the  weaves  that  shall  be  used. 
Some  years  Jacquard  patterns,  where  a  figure  or  de- 
sign is  woven  into  the  ribbon,  have,  been  in  favor. 
Popular  ribbons  now  are  grosgrain,  faille,  taffeta, 
moire,  cire,  satin,  velvet,  metallic,  and  novelties,  many 
of  which  are  made  up  of  a  combination  of  two  or  more 
of  these  weaves. 

Cire  or  "  stovepipe  "  ribbons  are  not  distinguished 
by  the  weave,  but  by  the  finish,  the  polished  appear- 
ance being  due  to  an  ironing  process  in  the  manufac- 


96  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

ture.  Usually  satin  ribbons  are  cired,  and  soft  faille 
also  takes  the  finish  quite  well.  Polished,  metallic 
ribbons  are  stifTer  than  cired  ribbons,  but  give  the 
same  effect. 

Moire  has  a  watered  effect  produced  by  pressing  taf- 
feta, faille,  or  grosgrain  ribbons  between  stamped  roll- 
ers. Taffeta  ribbon  is  not  apt  to  wear  so  well  as  the 
others  unless  it  is  of  good  quality  with  little  weighting. 

Widths  of  Ribbons 

Widths  in  millinery  ribbon  vary  from  number  one 
baby  ribbon  to  sash  ribbon  fourteen  inches  wide.  Dif- 
ferent types  of  ribbon  are  used  for  different  styles  of 
hats,  and  the  style  of  the  season  also  determines  the 
width  of  ribbon  to  be  used. 

Narrow  widths  are  used  principally  in  bands,  cock- 
ades, bow-knots,  plaitings,  and  shirrings.  These  are 
used  mainly  for  children's  and  misses'  hats,  though 
narrow  bow-knots  are  frequently  employed  as  a  finish 
to  elaborate  flower  or  feather  trimmed  hats.  Not  in- 
frequently narrow  ribbons  of  velvet  or  other  material 
are  shirred  flat  around  the  brim  of  a  large  dress  hat. 

Wide  ribbons  are  often  used  in  scarf  effect  around 
the  crown  and  also  partly  on  the  brim  of  sport  hats. 
Wide  ribbons  are  used  in  bow  effect  on  afternoon  and 
evening  hats  in  combination  with  flowers  or  other  soft 
trimmings.  The  bows  may  be  in  high  loops  or  broad 


RIBBONS,  BANDS,  AND  ORNAMENTS         97 

and  flat,  as  the  lines  of  the  hat  and  the  styles  of  the  sea- 
son suggest.  Frequently  broad  ribbons,  especially  of 
satin  or  velvet  are  drawn  softly  around  the  crown  of  a 
picture  hat,  and  then  through  the  brim,  forming  back 
streamers,  or  being  finished  in  a  loop. 

Ribbons  are  either  finished  smooth  at  the  edge,  or 
with  a  heavy  cord,  or  with  a  picot  edge.  Cords  often 
serve  as  bands. 

Bands 

Originally  bands  were  used  solely  in  making  toques 
and  turbans  over  a  foundation  of  maline  or  chiffon. 
More  recently,  however,  bands  have  been  used  around 
the  crowns  of  sailor  hats  and  others  of  various  shapes. 
This  is  especially  true  of  the  narrow  conventional 
bands,  or  of  bands  made  of  worsted  in  bright  oriental 
combinations  of  color. 

Bands  are  made  of  various  materials.  On  founda- 
tions of  net  or  some  other  delicate  material,  appliques 
are  made  of  sequins,  chenille,  straw,  or  embroidery 
silk,  either  in  straight  rows  or  in  a  design.  Some- 
times two  or  more  of  these  materials  are  combined  in 
a  band.  Bands  are  also  made  of  metallic  material 
either  embroidered  or  composed  of  solid  pieces  of 
metal  joined  together.  Some  bands  are  made  of 
white,  jet,  steel,  or  iridescent  beads  strung  together  or 
embroidered  in  a  design  t  n  the  usual  foundations. 
Half  bands  are  similar  in  construction,  but  are  usually 


98  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

of  less  conventional  design  and  are  used  as  appliqued 
motifs.     Flowers  are  appliqued  on  bands. 

Ornaments 

Trimmings  known  as  ornaments  comprise  buckles, 
slides,  cabochons,  pins,  and  motifs  of  jet,  steel,  rhine- 
stones,  mother-of-pearl,  beads,  soutache  braid,  tapes- 
try, gilt,  silver,  oxidized  metal,  copper,  ivory,  and 
crystal.  Many  of  these  ornaments,  particularly  those 
made  of  sequins  or  scale  jet  or  jet  beads,  imitate  wings, 
leaves,  roses,  and  other  objects.  They  are  appliqued 
on  net,  maline,  or  velvet. 

Among  the  most  novel  ornaments  may  be  mentioned 
emblems  and  objects  typical  of  certain  countries  or 
historical  facts  and  periods.  Even  human  figures  are 
reproduced  in  tapestry  and  wool  or  silk  embroidery  to 
be  appliqued  on  sport  hats.  Some  of  the  more  deli- 
cate ornaments  are  used  as  a  finish  at  the  base  of  the 
feather  on  feather  trimmed  hats.  Ornaments  when 
used  with  ribbons  are  popular  on  tailored  hats.  Quills 
of  celophane  are  used.  Copper  is  often  seen  on  bows. 

Embroidery  and  Painting 

Recently  hand-embroidery;  painting,  and  stenciling 
have  been  used  more  or  less  in  trimming  hats.  The 
embroidery  material  is  silk  floss,  wool,  yarn,  or  metallic 
threads.  Polka  dots,  croovs-stitching,  and  other  de- 


RIBBONS,  BANDS,  AND  ORNAMENTS         99 

signs  have  been  used.  The  painting  has  been  in  thin 
color,  of  bird  and  flower  designs,  showing  a  strong 
oriental  influence.  Bamboo  straw  takes  paint  well. 
Usually  when  conventional  or  formal  designs  are  used, 
the  hat  will  remain  attractive  longer  and  one  will  not 
tire  of  it  so  quickly.  The  naturalistic  designs  repro- 
ducing pictures  or  scenes  are  less  artistic.  Silver  or 
tinsel  ribbonzene  decorates  effectively. 

Other  Trimmings 

Lace,  when  employed  in  millinery,  is  generally  used 
either  as  the  foundation  for  a  whole  hat  or  as  the  sole 
trimming.  Valenciennes  lace  is  used  in  the  form  of 
rosettes ;  Mechlin,  Chantilly,  filet,  and  other  thin  laces 
as  draperies;  shadow,  oriental,  and  other  similar  laces 
as  the  designs  require.  Soft  gauzy  silk  maline  is  sat- 
isfactory both  for  a  hat  foundation,  a  trimming  or  a 
drapery,  as  well  as  for  a  veiling  over  other  trimmings. 
Maline  trimming  looks  well  in  the  form  of  bows, 
choux,  plaitings,  and  other  effects.  It  is  admirable 
for  veiling  and  softening  a  strong  color.  Metallic 
cloth  is  used  both  as  a  foundation  and  as  a  trimming, 
principally  in  bows,  hand-made  flowers,  little  standing 
novelties,  or  appliqued  motifs.  Fringe  and  tassels  are 
sometirres  popular. 

Fur  Tr  minings 

Fur  Df  all  kinds  is  used  in  strips  in  trimming;  less 
frequently  in  tufts  and  other  forms. 


Chapter  XI 
CHOOSING  A  BECOMING  HAT 

Importance  of  the  Choice 

The  chief  requisite  of  a  hat  is  that  it  shall  be  becom- 
ing. Some  people  find  it  very  easy  to  select  a  becom- 
ing hat;  others  hunt  for  one  in  vain.  Many  people 
do  not  wear  the  hat  most  suited  to  their  coloring,  their 
clothes,  or  the  shape  of  their  heads  and  features.  Un- 
less special  attention  has  been  given  to  the  study  of 
these  things  the  disturbing  element  may  not  be  noticed, 
even  though  the  effect  as  a  whole  is  unpleasing. 

Good  Taste 

It  is  current  opinion  that  "  good  taste  "  or  a  sense 
of  what  is  becoming  in  clothes  and  hats  is  inborn,  and 
that  those  who  lack  this  desirable  faculty  have  no  alter- 
native but  to  do  the  best  they  can  and  to  depend  on  the 
variable  advice  of  others.  Perhaps  the  majority  of 
people  belong  to  the  second  class,  but  it  is  comforting 
to  know  that  it  is  possible  to  cultivate  one's  perception 
of  beauty  in  form  and  color  by  study,  observation,  and 
the  knowledge  of  a  few  simple  rules  that  generally 

100 


CHOOSING  A  BECOMING  HAT  IOI 

hold  good.     "  Good  taste  "  thus  becomes  an  acquired 
trait. 

The  Cause  of  Bad  Taste  >,: 

When  we  see  about  us  all  our  lives  mediocre  or  poor 
taste  rather  than  beauty  in  architecture,  hoirsetook-  fur- 
nishings,/wallpapers,  and  carpets,  it  is  small  wonder 
that  we  often  choose  wrongly  when  it  comes  to  our 
clothes.  We  think  of  the  clothes  themselves  and  for- 
get that  they  should  chiefly  be  a  background  for  our 
persons.  Do  we  realize,  for  instance,  that  a  mere 
change  in  the  line  of  a  collar  will  change  the  whole 
appearance  of  a  face? 

It  would  be  fascinating  to  take  up  the  questions  of 
line  and  color  with  regard  to  the  whole  costume,  but 
in  this  and  the  next  few  chapters  only  the  lines  of  the 
head  and  face  are  studied  as  these  are  the  important 
ones  in  choosing  a  hat.  However,  a  mastery  of  these 
principles  will  enable  one  to  carry  the  study  further, 
and  perhaps  to  dress  more  becomingly. 

The  Duty  of  Women  to  be  Beautiful 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  woman  to  attire  herself  as 
charmingly  as  possible,  for  the  pleasure  of  her  friends 
and  all  who  come  in  contact  with  her  as  well  as  to  aid 
her  advancement  in  any  calling.  It  is  hard  not  to  be 
self-conscious  when  unsuitably  dressed.  It  is  embar- 


102  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

rassing  to  feel  either  that  clothes  are  not  becoming  or 
that  the  costume  selected  is  inappropriate  for  the  occa- 
sion. 

Importance  of  a  Hat  in  a  Costume 

One. jarring  note  in  a  costume  will  spoil  the  effect  of 
the  whole,  and  frequently  this  jarring  note  is  the  hat. 
By  paying  a  high  price  one  can  usually  secure  a  be- 
coming hat,  but  there  are  many  people  who  do  not  wish 
to  pay  a  high  price  and  yet  want  a  satisfactory  article. 
It  takes  more  skill  to  make  a  good  choice  in  an  inex- 
pensive hat  because  the  designers  and  the  milliners 
who  make  such  hats  are  not  high-class  workers  and 
the  materials  from  which  the  hats  are  made  are  not  of 
the  first  quality. 

Materials  count  less  in  millinery  than  style.  A  cus- 
tomer is  apt  to  care  less  about  the  hat's  wearing  quali- 
ties than  about  its  style  and  becomingness.  These  are 
the  chief  requisites  in  her  mind,  no  matter  whether  she 
admits  it  or  not,  though  most  women  do  admit  it  quite 
freely. 

The  Saleswoman's  Part  in  Selecting  a  Hat 

The  average  salesperson  knows  this  and  her  chief 
exclamations  as  she  tries  hats  upon  her  customer  are, 
"  How  well  that  suits  you,"  "  How  pretty  that  looks  on 
you,"  "  This  is  becoming."  Remarks  of  this  sort, 


CHOOSING  A  BECOMING  HAT  103 

however,  are  so  often  accompanied  by  an  unbecoming 
hat,  one  which  the  customer  knows  is  not  suitable  to 
her,  that  customers  are  apt  to  be  cynical  and  no  longer 
believe  the  saleswoman's  statements.  The  only  rem- 
edy for  this  distrust  is  for  the  salespeople  to  know  why 
a  hat  is  becoming  or  the  reverse,  and  then  to  be  truth- 
ful in  the  matter.  One  remark  setting  forth  the  good 
points  of  the  hat  and  calling  attention  to  the  becoming 
features  would  prevent  the  loss  of  many  a  sale  and 
save  the  customer  from  fruitless  wandering  among  the 
stores  with  the  idea  that  she  is  hard  to  suit. 

If  saleswomen  cultivate  their  observation  and  judg- 
ment of  pretty  and  suitable  things,  this  knowledge  will 
not  only  bring  them  pleasure  but  will  help  them  to 
build  up  a  following  of  customers  who  have  confidence 
in  them.  Rare  is  the  salesgirl  who  does  not  have  at 
least  a  few  customers  who  ask  for  her  because  they 
like  her  personality  and  prompt  attention,  but  the 
woman  who  is  in  demand  chiefly  for  her  good  judg- 
ment, and  who  is  a  recognized  authority,  has  countless 
followers  and  success  attends  her. 

Line  and  Color  in  Millinery 

Good  lines  and  the  right  choice  of  color  or  of  color 
combinations  may  seem  to  be  matters  of  accident,  and 
one  time  in  a  hundred  they  may  be,  but  the  other 
ninety-nine  times  they  are  the  result  of  careful  study 


104  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

and  observations.  One  salesgirl  was  sent  by  her  store 
in  the  Middle  West  to  study  costume  designing  in  New 
York  because  she  took  such  an  interest  in  advising  cus- 
tomers as  to  colors  and  ways  of  making  the  silk  piece 
goods  she  sold  that  the  store  wished  to  make  her  a 
service  specialist. 

Observation  and  Study  of  Dress 

The  woman  who  wishes  to  acquire  excellent  taste 
must  be  observant  of  all  she  sees,  especially  in  matters 
of  dress.  When  she  sees  a  passer-by,  she  might  ask 
herself:  "  Is  that  the  most  becoming  costume  that 
woman  could  wear?  Could  I  suggest  any  little  im- 
provement? Is  the  color  of  her  hat  the  best  for  her 
complexion,  eyes,  hair,  and  costume?  What  kind  of 
hat  would  I  choose  for  her?  " 

At  first  your  criticisms  will  be  mostly  destructive 
and  you  may  think  that  nine  people  out  of  ten  are 
poorly  dressed,  but  as  you  study  the  problem  your 
criticisms  will  grow  more  constructive  and  you  will 
think  of  changes  for  the  better  in  the  things  you  ob- 
serve. As  you  think  of  your  friends,  have  you  noticed 
that  some  of  them  are  more  observant  than  others, 
that  maybe  one  of  them  gets  more  pleasure  than  others 
out  of  a  window,  a  shopping  tour,  or  a  walk  on  the  ave- 
nue and  that  her  quick  eyes  miss  nothing  of  interest? 
It  is  just  this  quality  of  quick  observation  and  alertness 


CHOOSING  A  BECOMING  HAT  105 

that  should  be  cultivated  in  studying  the  scientific  prin- 
ciples of  becoming  dress. 

Style  in  Millinery 

Style  is  an  important  element  in  millinery,  but  that 
alone  should  not  decide  the  choice  of  a  hat.  The  ar- 
gument for  style,  though  a  good  one,  ought  not  to  be 
made  the  chief  or  only  one,  for  there  are  many  stylish 
hats  in  every  display  and  it  is  quite  possible  to  choose 
one  that  is  becoming  as  well  as  stylish.. 

It  often  prejudices  a  woman  when  a  saleswoman 
displays  a  hat  with  the  remark,  "  This  is  very  stylish/' 
or  "  This  is  very  dressy."  The  saleswoman  should 
give  reasons  for  her  statement,  or  she  misses  an  oppor- 
tunity and  fails  to  impress  the  customer  with  her 
knowledge  and  good  judgment. 

Women  are  interested  to  know  what  is  new  and  in 
the  best  style,  and  most  of  them  glean  this  information 
from  their  observations  in  the  stores  and  from  the  as- 
sertions of  salespeople  rather  than  from  fashion  maga- 
zines and  papers.  Do  not  real  articles  make  more  im- 
pression on  you  than  pictures  of  them? 

Change  in  Styles 

On  the  other  hand,  styles  change  very  rapidly  in  the 
Millinery  Department,  and  therefore  the  saleswoman 
should  be  careful  not  to  be  too  much  influenced  by 


106  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

what  is  new.  It  is  easy  to  become  tired  of  hats  that 
have  been  in  the  department  for  some  time  and  conse- 
quently to  neglect  them  and  to  push  only  the  "very 
latest."  This  complicates  the  manager's  problem  of 
slow-moving  merchandise. 

The  salesperson  with  natural  or  cultivated  good 
taste  does  not  fall  into  this  habit,  because  she  is  more 
interested  in  what  is  beautiful  than  in  what  is  merely 
new.  It  is  well  to  see  and  observe  the  new  things  and 
to  decide  about  them,  considering  what  type  of  person 
ought  to  wear  this  hat  or  that,  perhaps  having  such 
accurate  taste  that  one  can  think,  "  This  is  the  very 
hat  for  my  customer,  Mrs.  S. !  "  One  might  then  call 
up  Mrs.  S.  about  it,  provided  one  knew  that  she  would 
like  the  attention,  and  thereby  make  a  sale  as  well  as 
render  a  service.  This  method  of  making  sales  is 
practiced  far  more  in  other  departments  than  in  the 
Millinery  Department. 

Extreme  and  Conservative  Styles 

Another  consideration  in  regard  to  style  is  the  purse 
of  the  customer.  If  she  intends  to  have  a  number  of 
hats,  she  can  afford  to  purchase  one  that  is  rather  ex- 
treme in  style  because  she  will  have  several  changes. 
To  be  very  stylish,  a  hat  must  be  rather  distinctive,  but 
one  quickly  tires  of  something  that  is  rather  extreme 
unless  one  has  something  else  to  change  to. 


CHOOSING  A  BECOMING  HAT  107 

Suitability 

Of  the  Millinery  Department  in  a  large  and  success- 
ful store,  many  women  say :  "  The  only  trouble  with 
that  millinery  section  is  that  none  of  the  salesgirls 
know  what  is  suitable.  They  try  anything  on  you." 
The  department  evidently  lacks  a  right  adjustment  to 
its  customers,  a  personal  feeling  of  good  taste  and 
helpful  service.  The  fact  that  for  building  up  a  per- 
manent trade  a  satisfied  customer  is  worth  more  in  the 
long  run  than  a  sale,  has  not  occurred  to  one  of  those 
salespeople.  Each  one  is  working  very  shortsightedly 
to  fill  up  her  book  for  the  day,  not  to  increase  her  in- 
dividual sales  on  the  morrow. 

Putting  One's  Self  in  the  Customer's  Place 

Have  you  ever  been  shopping  yourself  and  had 
something  shown  you  that  appealed  greatly  to  the  one 
who  was  displaying  it,  which  suited  her  fancy,  but  did 
not  agree  with  your  idea  at  all  ?  The  saleswoman  who 
was  waiting  on  you  was  not  able  to  put  herself  in  your 
place?  She  was  deficient  in  judgment,  although  this 
is  a  quality  which  anyone  can  cultivate. 

What  Constitutes  a  Suitable  Hat 

To  be  suitable,  the  hat  purchased  must  go  well  with 
the  suit  or  dresses  to  be  worn  with  it,  and  a  distinction 
must  be  made  as  to  its  purpose,  whether  it  is  to  be 


108  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

used  for  street,  afternoon,  or  evening  wear,  or  for  a 
combination  of  these. 

Suiting  the  Age  of  a  Customer 

Another  important  consideration  in  choosing  a  suit- 
able hat  for  a  customer  is  her  apparent  age.  Have 
you  sometimes  seen  young  girls  wearing  hats  far  too 
old  for  them,  or  an  older  woman  made  almost  ridicu- 
lous by  one  too  frivolous  for  her,  one  that  tended  to 
accentuate  her  age  by  contrast  with  its  own  youthful- 
ness  of  appearance  ?  Suiting  a  hat  to  a  person's  years 
requires  a  knowledge  of  color,  of  line  and  of  form, 
which  we  shall  discuss  later;  with  such  knowledge  any- 
one can  decide  whether  or  not  a  hat  is  suitable  to  the 
age  of  the  wearer. 

Actively  Becoming  Hats 

One  very  well-dressed  woman,  whom  it  is  always  a 
pleasure  to  look  at,  said  one  day :  "I  never  buy  any- 
thing because  it  is  becoming.  It  must  be  actively  be- 
coming. I  must  look  better  in  it  than  without  it.  It 
must  add  to  my  appearance."  Are  any  of  your  arti- 
cles of  clothing  of  this  nature  that  they  make  you  seem 
even  better  looking  than  you  are,  that  is,  subdue  your 
indifferent  points  and  bring  out  the  good  ones?  It  is 
a  good  test  question  to  ask  yourself  when  you  are 
trying  hats  upon  yourself  or  upon  anyone  else:  "  Is 
this  actively  becoming?" 


CHOOSING  A  BECOMING  HAT  109 

No  two  faces  are  alike,  any  more  than  two  person- 
alities. Every  woman  wants  a  hat  that  is  distinctive. 
It  may  occasion  Mrs.  Jones  a  great  deal  of  pique  if 
she  finds  that  her  neighbor  Mrs.  Henry  has  a  hat 
exactly  like  hers.  So  the  Millinery  Department  puts 
the  appeal  of  exclusiveness  above  all  others,  and  in 
addition  strives  to  present  so  large  a  variety  of  becom- 
ing hats  that  every  customer  can  make  a  choice  suit- 
able to  her  age  and  appearance. 

The  Most  Important  Elements  in  Choosing  a  Hat 

Color  and  form  are  the  most  important  elements  to 
consider  in  choosing  a  becoming  hat.  While  the 
quality  of  the  materials,  their  softness  and  gloss,  influ- 
ence the  appearance  of  a  hat  a  great  deal,  these  are  not 
so  essential  to  its  becoming  appearance  as  are  color  and 
form.  Color  is  the  simpler  of  these  two  elements  for 
most  people,  because  it  is  only  a  matter  of  persistent 
eye-training. 


Chapter  XII 

PRINCIPLES  OF  COLOR  * 

Importance  of  a  Knowledge  of  Color  to  the 

Salesperson 

Color  is  a  matter  of  very  great  importance  in  connec- 
tion with  many  varieties  of  merchandise.  In  order  to 
judge  textiles,  china  and  glass,  art  embroidery,  draper- 
ies, rugs,  ready-to-wear  garments,  millinery,  and  many 
other  varieties  of  merchandise  intelligently,  some  fun- 
damental knowledge  of  color  is  essential.  The  ac- 
cepted theories  of  color  and  color  combinations  are 
therefore  given  here  briefly. 

Combinations  of  Colors 

There  are  two  ways  of  combining  colors  which  pro- 
duce quite  different  results.  They  are : 

The  combination  of  colored  lights. 

The  combination  of  colored  pigments  or  dyes. 

When  different  colored  lights  are  combined,  the  re- 
sult is  a  combination  of  the  two  colors.  When  colored 
pigments  are  combined,  one  color  seems  to  absorb  or 

*  This  chapter,  containing  the  essential  principles  of  color,  was  prepared 
by  the  editor  and  appears  in  several  of  the  manuals  of  this  series. 

1 10 


PRINCIPLES  OF  COLOR  III 

counteract  the  other.  One  explanation  of  the  differ- 
ence is  that  the  pigments  are  never  perfectly  pure,  that 
is,  they  contain  elements  of  other  colors  and  therefore 
cannot  give  the  same  result  as  a  combination  of  the 
similar  colored  lights. 

All  colors  are  produced  by  the  effect  of  light  upon 
the  nerves  of  the  eye,  and  as  the  eye  sees  them,  colors 
are  contained  within  the  light  itself,  forming  when 
united  a  white  or  colorless  light,  as  in  sunlight.  It  is 
only  when  part  of  the  light  rays  are  in  some  way  ab- 
sorbed or  intercepted  that  we  see  the  remaining  rays 
as  distinct  colors. 

The  Spectrum 

Nearly  every  one  has  seen  the  band  of  beautiful 
colors  which  is  formed  by  a  beam  of  sunlight  passing 
through  a  prism.  The  same  effect  is  produced  when 
the  sun's  rays  pass  through  the  raindrops  and  we  see 
the  beautiful  band  or  rainbow  of  colors  in  the  sky. 

The  theory  is  that  as  the  beam  of  sunlight  passes 
through  the  prism,  it  is  separated  or  split  into  the  ele- 
ments of  which  it  is  made  up  and  forms  a  band  of 
colors  instead  of  a  white  light.  This  band  of  colored 
light  is  called  the  spectrum,  and  the  colors,  whether 
seen  through  the  prism  or  in  the  rainbow,  are  known 
as  the  spectrum  colors.  They  are  red,  orange,  yellow, 
green,  blue,  and  violet.  But  when  we  see  these  colors, 


112  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

either  in  the  rainbow  or  through  the  prism,  there  is 
every  gradation  from  one  color  to  the  next  so  that  the 
change  from  one  color  to  the  other  is  almost  imper- 
ceptible. For  instance,  the  red  changes  through  the 
different  degrees  of  red-orange  to  orange,  and  this 
changes  through  the  orange-yellows  to  yellow ;  the  yel- 
low changes  through  the  yellow-greens  to  green;  the 
green  changes  through  the  green-blues  to  blue;  the 
blue  changes  through  the  violet-blues  to  red. 

Standard  Colors 

The  colors  of  the  spectrum  are  accepted  as  the  nor- 
mal or  standard  colors:  red,  orange,  yellow,  green, 
blue,  and  violet. 

These  normal  or  standard  colors  are  represented  in 
each  case  by  the  greatest  intensity  of  the  color.  For 
instance,  the  standard  red  is  the  most  intense  red,  the 
standard  blue  is  the  strongest  blue,  and  so  on. 

While  the  spectrum  has  six  colors  which  seem  to  be 
of  equal  importance  in  the  ray  of  light,  we  find  that  in 
mixing  pigments  or  dyes  they  fall  into  two  classes 
called  primary  and  secondary  colors. 

Primary  Colors 

The  primary  colors  are  so  individual  that  they  can- 
not be  produced  by  any  mixture  of  other  colors.  They 
are  red,  blue,  and  yellow. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  COLOR  113 

Secondary  Colors 

Secondary  colors  may  be  made  by  mixing  two  of 
the  primary  ones.  They  are : 

Orange,  made  by  mixing  red  and  yellow. 
Green,  made  by  mixing  yellow  and  blue. 
Violet,  made  by  mixing  blue  and  red.* 

Characteristics  of  Primary  Colors 

Of  the  three  primary  colors,  yellow  is  the  most  "  ad- 
vancing," that  is,  seems  to  stand  out  from  its  back- 
ground. It  is  nearest  to  white  and  possesses  the 
greatest  power  of  reflecting  light.  It  imparts  bril- 
liancy in  a  greater  or  less  degree  to  every  compound 
into  which  it  enters. 

Red  is  the  most  positive.  It  represents  warmth  as  it 
is  brilliant  and  cheerful,  and  it  appears  to  advance 
somewhat.  Red  expresses  vibration,  action,  and 
warmth. 

Blue  is  the  most  "  retiring  "  of  the  primaries  and 
represents  coldness,  appearing  to  recede  from  the 
eyes.  It  imparts  coldness  in  various  degrees  to 
every  color  or  hue  into  the  composition  of  which  it 
enters. 

*  There  are  several  theories  concerning  the  number  of  primary  colors  in 
light,  but  they  do  not  alter  the  fact  that  blue,  red,  and  yellow  cannot  be 
made  in  pigments  or  dyes  by  combining  other  colors;  while  the  tints, 
shades,  and  hues  of  all  other  colors  except  blue,  red,  and  yellow  may  be 
made  by  means  of  such  combinations. 


114  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Characteristics  of  Secondary  Colors 

Of  the  secondary  colors,  green,  composed  of  the  pri- 
maries blue  and  yellow,  is  cool  or  warm  as  it  inclines  to 
blue  or  yellow.  Yet  in  general  it  is  cool,  cheerful,  and 
refreshing. 

Orange,  composed  of  yellow  and  red,  is  the  most 
"  advancing  "  of  the  secondaries.  It  is  composed  of 
two  luminous  colors  and  is  considered  the  warmest  and 
most  powerful  of  all  the  colors.  It  should  therefore 
be  used  sparingly. 

Violet  or  purple,  composed  of  red  and  blue,  is  the 
darkest  of  the  secondary  colors  and  is  related  most 
nearly  to  black.  It  reflects  very  little  light  and  looks 
still  darker  in  a  declining  light.  It  is  a  retiring  color 
and,  although  red  enters  into  its  composition,  it  cannot 
be  classed  as  a  warm  color  except  in  its  redder  hues. 
In  yellow  artificial  light,  such  as  gaslight,  it  appears 
brown.  Next  to  green,  purple  may  be  considered  the 
most  pleasing  of  the  secondary  colors  and  has  almost 
universally  been  considered  the  royal  or  imperial  color. 
It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  Tyrian  purple,  of 
which  we  have  heard  so  much,  approached  a  crimson  or 
red,  rather  than  the  deep  and  subdued  color  known  as 
purple  today. 

Luminous  and  Somber  Colors 
Colors  are  also  described  as: 


PRINCIPLES  OF  COLOR  1 1 5 

Luminous  or  warm: 
Yellow 
Orange 
Red 
Light  green 

Somber  or  cold : 
Blue 
Violet 
Dark  green 
Broken  tones  of  luminous  colors 

Broken  Colors 

Tertiary  or  broken  colors  are  not  found  in  the  spec- 
trum, but  may  be  made  by  mixing  two  secondary 
colors.  They  contain  all  three  primary  colors  in  un- 
equal proportions  and  are  named  according  to  the  pre- 
dominating color : 

Russet,  orange  plus  purple  —  red  predominating. 
Olive,  purple  plus  green  —  blue  predominating. 
Citrine,  orange  plus  green  —  yellow  predominat- 
ing. 

Besides  the  compound  colors  called  tertiaries,  there 
are  many  other  hues  into  which  the  three  primary 
colors  enter.  Among  these  the  most  characteristic  are 
brown,  maroon,  and  gray. 

Brown  requires  black  for  its  basis,  with  a  mixture 


Il6  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

of  citrine  and  olive.  It  is  a  retiring  and  sedate  color, 
but  not  dismal  nor  depressing. 

Maroon  is  formed  by  a  mixture  of  russet  and  olive, 
with  an  excess  of  red. 

Gray  is  always  restful  to  the  eyes.  A  perfectly  neu- 
tral gray  which  forms  the  perfect  background  for  other 
colors,  is  a  combination  of  black  and  white.  Besides 
the  neutral  gray,  there  are  many  others,  as  blue-grays, 
olive-grays,  and  green-grays,  formed  by  adding  other 
colors. 

Black  and  white  make  gray  in  whatever  combination 
they  are  used. 

Absorption  and  Reflection  of  Color 

The  color  of  any  object  is  due  to  its  power  to  absorb 
certain  colored  rays  in  white  light  and  to  reflect  others. 
An  object  which  looks  red  reflects  only  the  red  and 
has  absorbed  the  other  colored  rays.  A  blue  body  re- 
flects the  blue  and  absorbs  all  other  rays. 

White  substances  reflect  all  the  rays  of  light;  black 
substances  absorb  them  all.  For  this  reason  black  is 
said  to  be  the  absence  of  all  colors,  as  white  is  the 
presence  of  all.  (However,  no  mixture  of  colored 
pigments  will  produce  white.  The  theory  is  true  only 
of  light  rays.  Mixtures  of  colored  paints  will  produce 


By  its  absorption  of  light  rays,  black  lowers  the  tone 


PRINCIPLES  OF  COLOR 

of  any  color  placed  next  to  it.     Some  colors,  such  as 
yellow,  it  "  impoverishes/' 

By  its  reflection  of  all  light  rays,  white  heightens  or 
brightens  the  tone  of  any  color  which  is  placed  close 
beside  it. 

Complementary  Colors 

The  color  rays  absorbed  by  any  substance  "comple- 
ment," or  complete,  the  ones  reflected  in  making  white 
light.  Therefore,  they  are  called  the  complementary 
colors. 

The  complementary  color  of : 

Blue  is  orange. 
Red  is  green. 
Yellow  is  violet. 

In  the  diagram  (Figure  7)  the  complementary  col- 
ors are  found  by  following  the  various  lines  across  the 
circle  to  the  opposite  outer  edge. 

These  colors  are  sometimes  supplied  by  the  nerves 
of  the  eye  itself  which  are  wearied  by  looking  too  long 
at  one  hue.  This  may  be  proved  by  a  simple  experi- 
ment. 

If  a  circular  piece  of  red  paper  is  placed  on  a  white 
background  and  looked  at  steadily  for  a  time,  and  then 
the  eyes  are  turned  toward  a  white  surface,  a  green 
circle  exactly  corresponding  in  size  to  the  red  one  first 


Il8  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

seen  will  appear.  A  blue  or  a  yellow  circle  will  pro- 
duce their  complementary  colors  in  a  similar  man- 
ner. 

This  exhaustion  of  the  nerves  of  the  eye  also  causes 
a  color  to  appear  duller  after  one  has  looked  at  it  a 
long  time.  If  the  nerves  are  rested  by  another  color  — 
especially  the  complementary  one  —  they  will  become 
normal  again. 

When  the  complementary  colors  are  reflected  from 
another  color  rather  than  a  white  background,  they 
change  the  hue  of  that  color. 

To  eyes  which  are  fatigued  by  looking  at  blue,  red 
will  appear  like  an  orange-red,  yellow  will  be  more  in- 
tense, and  green  will  appear  as  a  yellow-green.  If  red 
has  been  looked  at,  blue  will  appear  as  a  green- 
blue,  yellow  as  a  green-yellow,  and  green  will  appear 
blue.  After  green,  red  will  have  a  violet  appearance, 
yellow  will  be  more  like  orange,  blue  will  be  a  violet- 
blue,  and  orange  a  red-orange.  These  are  matters  of 
great  importance  in  the  display  of  merchandise.  The 
following  rules  should  be  remembered : 

Red  near  blue  seems  yellower. 

Red  near  yellow  seems  bluer. 

Red  near  green  seems  purer  and  brighter. 

Red  near  black  seems  duller. 

Red  near  white  seems  brighter. 

Red  near  gray  is  not  changed. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  COLOR 


119 


V          GREEK! 
From  "  Color  Harmony  in  Dress 


by  Audsley,  by 
courtesy  of  Robert  M.  McBride  &  Co. 

Figure  7.    Diagram  Indicating  the  Primary  and  Secondary  Colors 
with  Their  Hues,  Tints,  and  Contrasts 

Other  colors  are  affected  in  similar  ways. 

These  effects  are  produced  by  the  natural  tendency 
to  see  the  complementary  of  any  color,  which  in  the 
case  of  green  intensifies  the  red  and  in  all  the  other 
cases  changes  its  color  by  mixing  their  complementary 
color  with  it. 


120  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Properties  of  Color 

Colors  may  be  distinguished  according  to  their  hue, 
their  value,  and  their  intensity. 

Hues 

The  word  hue  may  be  used  in  three  ways. 

In  writings  on  the  science  of  color  hue  signifies  the 
property  which  distinguishes  one  color  from  another. 

In  common  speech  it  is  employed  to  mean  a  particu- 
lar shade  or  degree  of  color. 

The  word  is  correctly  used  when  applied  to  the  mod- 
ification of  one  color  by  the  addition  of  another  color. 
Thus,  red-violet  and  blue-violet  are  hues  of  violet  made 
by  the  excess  of  red  or  of  blue.  In  the  diagram  the 
hues  are  found  between  the  primary  and  secondary 
colors.  Still  further  divisions  are  possible. 

Values 

The  value  or  tone  of  a  color  is  the  gradation  from 
light  to  dark  by  the  addition  of  white  in  the  lighter 
tones  and  of  black  in  the  darker  ones.  A  tone  lighter 
than  the  standard  is  properly  called  a  tint,  and  one 
darker  is  called  a  shade,  but  many  people  call  both 
tints  and  shades  "  shades."  Rose  color  is  a  tint  of  red, 
while  crimson  is  a  shade. 

In  the  diagram  the  concentric  circles  represent  the 
tints  produced  by  adding  varying  amounts  of  white; 


PRINCIPLES  OF  COLOR  121 

the  numerals  above  the  line  represent  the  parts  of 
color;  those  below,  the  parts  of  white. 

Color  Scales 

The  scale  of  any  color,  whether  it  be  a  pure  color  or 
a  hue,  consists  of  all  the  tones  from  the  lightest  tint 
to  the  darkest  shade.  There  are,  for  instance,  scales 
of  green-blue,  purple-blue,  and  gray-blue. 

t 

Intensity 

Intensity  is  the  strength  of  a  color.  The  normal  or 
standard  colors  are  in  full  intensity.  The  intensity  of 
a  color  is  reduced  by  "  graying "  it  with  its  comple- 
mentary color.  By  the  addition  of  orange  to  blue,  or 
of  green  to  red,  the  color  may  be  subdued  to  half -in- 
tensity or  quarter-intensity,  and  so  on.  If  a  large 
amount  of  the  complementary  is  added,  the  original 
color  will  be  reduced  to  a  dull  gray. 

Color  Harmonies 

Harmony  in  the  combination  of  colors  may  be  of 
two  kinds : 

1.  Harmony  of  contrast. 

2.  Harmony  of  analogy  or  likeness. 

Harmony  of  contrast  is  between  colors  which  are 
most  unlike  each  other.  It  is  perfect  when  the  colors 
are  complementary.  Blue  and  orange,  or  red  and 


122  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

green,  are  perfectly  harmonious,  one  of  the  reasons  for 
the  pleasant  sensation  being  that  each  one  deepens 
the  color  of  the  other  and  makes  it  purer.  The  true 
contrasting  color  of  any  color  may  be  found  by  fol- 
lowing the  cross  lines  in  the  diagram.  The  har- 
mony of  complementary  colors  is  very  bright  if  the 
colors  are  in  full  intensity.  Grayed  or  broken  tones 
make  a  quieter  harmony. 

Harmony  by  contrast  may  also  be  secured  with  the 
hues  on  each  side  of  the  complementary  color,  as  blue 
with  red-orange,  or  yellow  or  red  with  blue-green  or 
blue-violet. 

The  harmony  of  analogy  or  likeness  is  between 
colors  of  the  same  or  related  color  scales.  They  may 
be: 

1.  Different  shades  or  tints  of  the  same  scale,  as 

light  red  and  dark  red. 

2.  Different  hues  of  the  same  color,  as  blue-green 

and  yellow-green. 

The  first  is  sometimes  called  a  mono-chromatic  or 
self -color  harmony.  The  tints  or  shades  combined 
should  have  enough  variety  to  be  distinct,  but  should 
not  be  so  different  as  to  lose  their  likeness  and  form  a 
harmony  of  contrast.  On  the  diagram  these  har- 
monies are  shown  along  each  line  from  the  full  color 
to  white. 


PRINCIPLES  OF  COLOR  123 

A  dominant  harmony  may  be  formed  by  the  use  of 
a  number  of  hues  of  the  same  color,  as  yellow-green, 
gray-green,  and  blue-green,  which  blend  because  green 
is  dominant. 

Color  Under  Artificial  Light 

All  colors  undergo  more  or  less  change  under  arti- 
ficial light. 

Under  gas  or  lamplight,  which  is  much  yellower 
than  daylight,  purples  and  violets  often  appear  brown. 
Some  of  the  darker  hues  are  almost  destroyed. 

Blue  is  darkened. 

Brown  is  made  warmer  in  hue. 

Green  is  yellower. 

Red,  orange,  and  yellow  are  all  brightened. 

The  inverted  gas  mantle  gives  a  somewhat  less  yel- 
low light,  and  therefore  these  effects  are  somewhat  less 
pronounced. 

The  incandescent  electric  light  gives  a  violet  hue  to 
blue,  and  a  reddish  hue  to  brown.  It  seems  to  add 
some  red  as  well  as  yellow  to  colors. 

The  arc  light  and  Welsbach  gas  mantle  have  an 
excess  of  blue,  which  is  imparted  to  colors. 


Chapter  XIII 
COLOR  IN  MILLINERY 

Commercial  Names  of  Colors 

In  the  field  of  color  it  is  hard  not  to  be  overin- 
fluenced  by  the  merely  fashionable.  There  are  usu- 
ally several  stylish  shades  from  which  one  may  choose, 
and  if  none  of  these  are  becoming,  it  is  far  better  to 
get  something  that  is  becoming,  even  if  it  is  not  the 
"  very  latest." 

Every  year  the  Color  Association  brings  out  new 
color  cards,  naming  these  colors  just  as  they  choose. 
It  is  not  essential  to  learn  all  of  these  names,  but  it  is 
helpful  to  know  the  leading  ones  of  the  year  in  case 
customers  ask  for  them,  and  also  because  women  are 
always  interested  in  the  new  names. 

The  name  generally  suggests  something  familiar; 
for  instance,  battleship  gray,  grass  green,  or  peacock 
blue.  Some  names  last  for  many  years  and  some  are 
not  well  known  even  for  one  season.  The  names  do 
not  change  the  colors  and  it  is  .more  important  in 
studying  color  to  be^able  to  see,  for  instance,  that  a 
Nile  green  is  a  green  with  a  little  blue  in  it  than  merely 
to  know  it  by  the  name^of  Nile  green.  One  person 

124 


COLOR  IN  MILLINERY  125 

may  look  at  a  hat  and  say  that  it  is  violet,  while  an- 
other may  note  that  the  violet  is  not  pure  but  has  a 
reddish  tone. 

No  colors  in  materials  or  dyes  are  really  pure ;  there 
is  always  a  slight  admixture  of  some  other  color.  In 
red'  found  in  fabrics,  for  instance,  there  is  always  a 
little  blue  and  yellow.  The  only  really  pure  colors 
are  found  in  the  rainbow  and  the  prismatic  spectrum. 
The  mixtures  of  color  and  the  resulting  tints  and  shades 
are  much  more  varied  and  pleasing  for  general  use  and 
much  more  becoming  than  the  pure,  strong  colors 
would  be.  Altogether,  the  rainbow  hues  and  the 
shades  and  tints  that  can  be  made  of  these  number 
about  3,000  to  4,000  known  colors  and  color  tones. 

It  is  small  wonder  that  new  tones  can  come  out  every 
year  and  the  supply  still  remain  unexhausted.  Since 
there  are  so  many  possible  color  combinations, '  it  is 
impossible  to  know  all  the  fancy  names.  But  it  is 
possible  and  most  useful  to  be  able  to  tell  the  compo- 
sition of  each  color  tone;  that  is,  what  its  basic  color 
is,  and  just  how  large  an  amount  of  black  or  white 
there  is  in  it.  .  This  ability,  though  it  is  often  uncon- 
scious, is  essential  if  one  is  to  become  a  good  judge  of 
color. 

The  head  of  a  very  successful  dressmaking  estab- 
lishment once  said :  "  I  don't  care  what  a  color  is 
called.  I  want  to  be  able  to  see  what  it  'is;  to  analyze 


126  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

it."  She  found  this  power  of  analysis  important  as  a 
first  step  in  deciding  what  would  go  well  with  a  certain 
color.  There  are  a  number  of  laws  that  are  helpful 
in  determining  this. 

Training  the  Sense  of  Color 

Does  everyone  have  a  changeless  instinct  for  color 
from  the  beginning?  A  baby  reaches  for  colored 
balls,  especially  for  the  gayest  and  brightest.  Primi- 
tive peoples  and  peasants  show  their  love  of  bright, 
vivid  colors  in  their  adornments  and  dress.  Very 
young  people  instinctively  like  gayer,  unsoftened  col- 
ors better  than  older  people  do. 

This,  therefore,  is  a  reason  for  not  allowing  one's 
color  sense  to  stay  at  a  standstill,  because  with  culti- 
vation the  taste  for  color  becomes  more  refined.  An 
uneducated  taste  prefers  combinations  of  bright  col- 
ors, but  as  the  eye  becomes  trained  it  sees  more  color 
in  tones  it  formerly  thought  dull.  Think  of  a  young 
boy's  choice  of  neckties  when  he  has  his  own  way! 

Yet  bright  colors  are  not  to  be  condemned  by  any 
means.  Sometimes  a  small  violet  or  scarlet  hat  is  just 
the  touch  needed  to  complete  a  certain  costume. 
However,  it  takes  a  trained  eye  to  know  just  when 
and  how  bright  colors  may  be  worn,  for  they  are  far 
more  difficult  to  choose  and  arrange  than  more  quiet 
tones. 


COLOR  IN  MILLINERY  127 

Questions  of  Taste  Solved  by  a  Knowledge  of  Color 
Harmony 

Color  harmonies  arejiot,  however,  matters  of  indi- 
vidual taste,  but  based  on  scientific  laws  [which  may  be 
learned  by  everyone.  The  saleswoman  in  the  Milli- 
nery Department  can  learn  to  make  the  right  com- 
binations when  she  knows  these  laws  and  has  trained 
her  taste.  Every  day  questions  arise  which  can  be 
solved  by  a  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  color.  For  in- 
stance, what  color  would  you  choose  to  make  a  sallow 
complexion  look  a  little  pinker?  What  colors  will 
bring  out  the  gold  and  yellow  in  blond  hair?  In 
choosing  becoming  shades  the  hair,  eyes,  and  complex- 
ion all  have  to  be  considered,  as  all  are  affected  by  the 
choice  of  a  color. 

It  is  remarkable  how  the  right  color  in  some  Ceases 
will  make  even  the  eyebrows  appear  to  great  advan- 
tage. In  a  color  class  two  shades  of  brown  were  tried 
on  an  auburn-haired  girl  with  beautifully  penciled  eye- 
brows. One  of  them  called  no  attention  to  her  eye- 
brows, while  the  other  showed  their  beauty.  Both 
shades  were  equally  becoming  in  other  respects. 

Bringing  Out  the  Best  Features  in  a  Face 

In  some  faces  you  wish  to  call  attention  to  a  good 
feature,  or  to  hide  a  bad  one.  The  right  color  will 
either  bring  out  or  subdue  lines.  Suppose  tan  and 


128  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

putty  tones  happen  to  be  in  vogue.  How  many  people 
there  are  who  should  never  put  on  such  colors,  since 
their  faces  have  not  enough  natural  color  to  counter- 
act the  yellow  and  gray  effect. 

Good  flesh  tints  cannot  be  brought  out  by  colors 
which,  working  according  to  the  law  of  complements, 
make  the  complexion  look  blue  or  green. 

Reflection 

In  one  way  only  is  there  an  offset  or  exception  to 
the  effects  of  complements,  and  that  is  when  there  i$ 
a  chance  for  reflection.  Only  when  the  materials  near 
the  face  are  glossy  enough  to  reflect  their  color  upon 
it,  will  this  action  counteract  the  law  of  complements 
and  produce  the  effect  of  the  same  color  that  is  worn. 

With  a  little  practice  you  can  see  cases  of  reflection 
and  even  produce  the  effect  yourself  when  it  is  needed. 
Perhaps  the  under  brim  of  a  hat,  where  reflection  fre- 
quently works,  is  the  best  illustration  in  millinery. 
If  the  under  brim  is  silky  or  glossy  enough  to  reflect 
its  color  upon  the  face  of  the  wearer,  this  effect  will 
be  obtained  rather  than  the  effect  of  the  opposite  or 
complementary  color. 

Reflection  often  makes  gray  or  nondescript  eyes 
look  dark  blue. 

Characteristics  of  Colors 

As  you  think  more  about  colors  they  seem  to  develop 


COLOR  IN  MILLINERY  129 

distinct  characteristics  and  each  color  gains  a  vivid 
meaning. 

.RedL 

Red  is  a  stimulant  which  livens  its  surroundings. 
It  attracts  attention,  is  cheerful  and  agreeable.  Used 
in  small  quantities  it  is  one  of  the  prettiest  of  costume 
decorations.  It  is  the  color  of  fire  and  warmth  and 
seems  more  suitable  for  winter  than  summer  wear. 
The  darker  tones  of  red  are  apt  to  be  becoming  to  both 
blondes  and  brunettes,  especially  to  those  with  a  clear 
complexion.  Bright  red,  however,  will  bring  out  any 
greenish  hue  in  the  skin.  It  is  not  at  all  becoming  to 
those  with  auburn  hair.  A  red-haired  person  cannot 
wear  pink  unless  it  is  softened  or  veiled  in  some  way. 
The  broken  hues  of  red,  such  as  russet  or  maroon,  are 
safer. 

The  trouble  with  a  stimulant  is  that  one  is  apt  to 
grow  tired  of  it  in  large  quantities.  This  is  especially 
true  of  red.  One  is  likely  to  grow  tired  of  a  red  dress 
or  hat  long  before  it  is  worn  out,  and  if  a  person  is 
to  have  only  one  hat  it  is  not  wise  to  choose  a  red 
one. 

To  some  people  red  is  so  intense  and  exciting  as  to 
be  disagreeable.     Pure,  red   should  not  be  combined, 
with  yellow  or  orange,  but  rather  with  blue,  blue-green, 
and  green.     All  these  combinations  are  better  if  one, 


130  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

or  both,  of  the  colors  are  half -intensity  or  softened 
with  neutrals. 

Red  is  easy  to  match  in  artificial  light  as  it  changes 
very  little. 

Orange 

Orange  is  a  gay  color,  warm  and  bright,  stimulating 
and  exciting.  It  must  be  used  very  carefully,  as  a  little 
of  it  goes  a  long  way.  Can  you  think  of  many  people 
to  whom  it  is  becoming?  It  is  usually  very  trying  to 
wear,  because  it  is  so  intense  and  gives  the  skin  a 
bluish  tinge. 

Broken  tones  of  orange  are  more  becoming  to 
brunettes  and  auburn-haired  people.  A  blonde  has  a 
good  deal  of  yellow,  cream,  and  tan  already  in  her 
coloring  and  the  intense  brightness  of  the  orange 
makes  them  look  dull  and  faded.  Besides,  the 
stronger  tones  of  orange  clash  with  the  shades  of  her 
hair. 

Orange  combines  poorly  with  red  and  only  fairly 
with  red,  violet,  and  green,  but  well  with  blue,  blue- 
green,  and  blue-violet. 

Yellow 

Yellow,  like  the  sunlight,  brightens  everything  it 
touches. 

Broken  tones  of  yellow  make  tans  and  browns  also, 


COLOR  IN  MILLINERY  131 

of  a  less  warm  tinge ;  these  hues  are  easier  to  wear  than 
pure  yellow,  which  is  trying  to  the  complexion.  The 
cream  tint  of  yellow  is  very  becoming,  and  most  people 
look  better  in  a  cream-colored  hat  than  in  a  pure  white 
one. 

Yellow  is  apt  to  be  more  becoming  to  brunettes  than 
to  blondes,  unless  it  is  greatly  softened.  It  combines 
well  with  violet,  purple,  dark  red,  and  blue,  but  is  not 
so  pleasing  with  orange,  scarlet,  blue-green,  or  green. 

Green 

Green  is  cool,  refreshing,  and  restful,  reminding  us 
of  the  grass  and  trees,  and  perhaps  because  nature 
shows  us  that  it  is  a  wise  choice,  we  use  it  in  hats  and 
clothing.  The  deeper,  richer  tones  are  usually  ex- 
pensive in  imitation  foliage  and  in  straw,  as  the  dyes 
are -costlier. 

Shades  of  blue-green  are  said  to  be  the  most  flatter- 
ing of  all  colors.  Blue-green  brings  out  the  comple- 
mentary color  of  soft  pink  in  the  cheeks  of  the  wearer. 
It  seems  to  eliminate  the  yellow  and  to  clear  up  the 
complexion,  and  thus  makes  the  skin  look  whiter.  It 
is  particularly  becoming  to  those  with  pale  skins,  and 
so  it  is  worn  a  great  deal  in  the  southern  part  of  the 
country,  where  the  warmth,  too,  makes  a  cool  color 
pleasing. 

The  only  persons  who  should  not  wear  this  color 


132  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

are  those  with  very  bright  red  cheeks,  or  florid  com- 
plexions. No  wonder  we  find  so  many  hats  in  this 
color,  or  trimmed  with  it,  perhaps  correcting  another 
color  that  is  more  difficult  to  wear. 

Green  is  difficult  to  match  and  changes  somewhat  in 
artificial  light.  Other  colors  go  well  with  certain 
shades  of  green,  especially  with  a  soft  grayish  blue- 
green,  but  pure  green  is  somewhat  hard  to  combine 
well,  particularly  with  other  tones  of  green.  It  is 
good  with  violet  and  just  the  right  shades  of  blue  and 
green  are  beautiful  together,  but  often  the  wrong  hues 
are  chosen. 

Blue 

When  one  thinks  of  blue  one  thinks  of  the  distant 
hills,  the  lakes,  the  ocean,  the  sky.  Even  the  air  seems 
cooler. 

Blue  is  perhaps  the  most  popular  of  all  colors  for 
wearing  apparel,  as  it  seems  to  bring  out  the  character 
and  delicacy  of  a  face. 

Blue  is  becoming  to  blondes,  because  its  comple- 
mentary, orange,  combines  with  their  rose  or 
cream-white  coloring  to  make  a  delicate  flesh  tint. 
Pale  brunettes  should  not  wear  light  blue,  because 
it  gives  a  tint  of  orange  yellow  to  their  darker 
complexions. 

Blue  is  a  restful  color  to  choose  and  one  does  not 


COLOR  IN  MILLINERY  133 

grow  tired  of  it.  In  the  brighter  and  lighter  tones  and 
in  the  cheaper  grades,  blue  straw,  ribbons,  and  other 
materials  are  apt  to  fade. 

Blue  is  one  of  the  hardest  colors  to  match  under  arti- 
ficial light  and  the  results  cannot  be  trusted,  as  blue 
looks  duller  in  any  light  which  has  in  it  an  excess  of 
yellow.  Blue  in  its  darker  tones  combines  well  with 
scarlet  or  red,  and  light  blue  with  yellow  or  orange,  but 
not  with  violet. 

VUlet 

Violet  is  a  cool,  summery  color,  yet  not  too  cold, 
especially  if  it  is  a  red- violet.  It  is  becoming  to  people 
with  fair,  rosy  complexions.  The  blue-violet  shades 
are  more  becoming  to  auburn  hair  than  the  red-violet 
ones.  The  latter  combination  is  daring  and  too  often 
misses  being  just  right.  Violet  combines  well  with 
orange,  yellow,  and  blue-green,  but  poorly  with  scarlet 
or  red,  and  is  not  so  good  with  orange  as  with  yellow. 
The  becoming  effect  of  violet  usually  depends  upon  the 
amount  of  pink  in  the  complexion.  It  brings  out  the 
yellow  tinge  in  a  pale  or  sallow  skin. 

We  used  to  associate  violet  with  old  ladies,  and  it 
was  the  only  color  that  elderly  people  were  supposed 
to  wear  with  dignity.  While  it  is  a  very  dignified 
color,  the  symbol  of  royalty,  our  ideas  have  changed 
in  recent  years  and  we  are  pleased  not  only  to  see  chil- 


134  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

dren  in  lavender,  but  also  to  see  elderly  people  in  blues 
and  even  brighter  colors  when  they  are  becoming. 

Variety  in  Color 

An  old  saying,  "  Variety  is  the  spice  of  life,"  is  no- 
where more  true  than  in  the  world  of  color.  How 
tired  we  should  become  of  always  seeing  equal  pro- 
portions of  colors  used  together.  Rarely  is  a  hat  made 
and  trimmed  with  equal  amounts  of  two  or  more 
colors,  and  if  it  is,  these  are  so  arranged  as  to  produce 
a  varied  effect.  The  rule  that  varying  amounts  of 
color  are  attractive  generally  holds  good. 

Variety  is  pleasing  not  only  in  the  amount  of 
color  but  also  in  its  degree  of  darkness.  If  two  colors 
do  not  look  well  together,  by  taking  a  tint  of  one  and 
a  shade  of  the  other,  and  perhaps  softening  one  or 
both  with  gray,  white,  or  black,  the  two  will  make  an 
attractive  harmony.  A  light  green  may  go  beautifully 
with  a  dark  blue,  or  a  pink  with  a  violet,  whereas  the 
full  green  or  red  might  not  have  looked  so  well. 
Many  illustrations  of  this  law  of  variety  may  be  found 
in  hats,  especially  in  their  trimmings. 

The  most  economical  way  to  dress  is  to  find  the  one 
or  two  colors  that  are  the  most  becoming  and  to  stick 
to  those  in  choosing  wearing  apparel.  Then  every- 
thing matches.  Many  people  choose  dark  blue,  which 
is  generally  becoming.  If  you  have  a  customer  who 


COLOR  IN  MILLINERY  135 

needs  to  be  economical  you  can  help  her  in  this  way, 
and  try  to  influence  her  against  getting  something  that 
will  not  do  to  wear  with  her  other  clothes. 

Restfulness  of  Neutral  Colors 

A  neutral  color,  like  a  neutral  person  or  nation,  is 
one  which  favors  nobody  and  supposedly  gets  along 
well  with  all.  Black,  white,  and  gray  are  the  most 
important  neutral  colors.  Strictly  speaking,  white  is 
not  a  color  at  all  but  just  light,  and  black  is  the  absence 
of  light.  Any  colors  can  be  combined  with  them  and 
for  this  reason  they  are  very  widely  used  in  millinery. 

Neutral  colors  are  restful  and  quieting  to  the  eye. 
They  do  not  stimulate  the  optic  nerves  unduly  except 
in  dazzling  whites  or  in  extreme  combinations  of  black 
and  white,  which  always  make  a  striking  effect.  In 
choosing  a  hat  to  show  to  a  customer  who  wears  a 
bright  colored  suit,  it  is  well  to  select  a  softening 
neutral.  The  hat  may  have  a  touch  of  bright  color  to 
match  the  suit. 

As  a  rule  neutral  colors  do  not  attract  attention  and 
that  is  why  most  stores  require*  their  employees  to 
wear  them.  It  is  also  the  reason  why,  in  arranging 
hats  for  display,  good  decorators  make  neutral  back- 
grounds in  order  to  bring  out  the  colors  of  all  the  hats 
to  greater  advantage,  and  yet  avoid  inharmonious 
effects. 


136  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

If  two  colors  do  not  go  especially  well  together,  a 
touch  of  black  with  them  or  their  entire  separation  by 
the  use  of  black  or  white  will  soften  and  harmonize 
the  combination,  and  perhaps  make  each  more  effec- 
tive. 

Other  neutrals  which  are  much  used  in  hats  are 
colors  with  a  good  deal  of  black  or  gray  in  them,  such 
as  brown,  green-gray,  and  tan.  Yellow  is  a  color  that 
goes  well  with  almost  every  other,  especially  when 
softened  to  a  cream,  because  yellow  is  near  white  in 
lightness  and,  like  gold  or  the  sunlight,  tones  in  with 
everything.  Many  straws  are  either  tan  or  yellow, 
and  the  natural  straw  harmonizes  well  with  any  color 
of  trimming. 

Neutrals  in  dress  and  hats  are  at  least  safe,  although 
if  untouched  by  brightening  colors  they  are  apt  to  ap- 
pear somewhat  sober.  A  certain  distinction  may  often 
be  seen,  however,  in  hats  of  black,  gray,  or  white  where 
the  absence  of  color  only  emphasizes  the  beauty  of 
the  graceful  and  unusual  lines. 

Combinations  of  Neutrals  with  Brighter  Colors 

Study  the  effect  of  neutrals  in  combination  with  other 
colors.  It  may  take  weeks  to  train  the  eye  to  be  really 
observant  of  color.  Like  any  other  faculty,  it  can  be 
developed  greatly  by  training.  When  you  have  leisure 
as  on  a  rainy  day,  study  the  hats  in  your  department. 


COLOR  IN  MILLINERY  137 

Note  what  neutrals  are  lightened  by  bits  of  color  or 
what  colors  would  be  improved  by  the  use  of  a  neutral 
in  combination.  Skilful  designers  place  a  neutral 
color,  often  white  or  cream,  about  the  neck  of  a  dress 
or  under  the  brim  of  a  hat,  in  order  to  make  them 
more  becoming. 

How  to  Train  One's  Self  in  Color-Taste 

One  of  the  most  successful  ways  of  training  one's 
self  in  color-taste  is  to  try  hats  upon  one's  friends.  It 
is  remarkable  to  note  the  actual  changes  in  the  appear- 
ance of  hair,  eyes,  and  complexions  with  different 
colors.  There  is  a  useful  old  saying,  "  Match  your 
eyes  for  the  house  and  your  hair  for  the  street,"  but 
it  cannot  be  applied  indiscriminately. 

Each  of  your  friends  represents  a  type  of  the  cus- 
tomers who  will  come  to  you,  and  with  this  practice 
you  may  learn  the  colors  to  suggest  to  them.  And 
since  you  are  often  required  to  plan  the  trimming  of 
hats,  note  everywhere  about  you  the  effects  of  com- 
binations of  color. 

In  the  rack  of  hosiery  or  of  ties  in  the  store,  have 
the  articles  been  hung  in  the  way  that  you  would  hang 
them?  Would  the  change  of  one  or  two  improve  the 
effect  of  the  whole?  The  pretty  effect  of  a  display 
is  often  ruined  by  just  one  clashing  color.  What 
colors  seem  to  you  to  clash  ?  Do  not  believe  what  you 


138  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

are  told  by  others  in  this  respect  but  test  the  matter  for 
yourself. 

By  persistent  study  you  will  surely  increase  and  de- 
velop your  good  taste.  The  reward  of  paying  greater 
attention  to  color  combinations  is  immeasurable.  So 
many  people  wear  unbecoming  colors  because  they 
know  nothing  of  color  effects. 

Some  day,  perhaps,  every  woman  will  find  it  easy  to 
obtain  this  information  to  aid  her  in  dressing;  until 
then  the  intelligent  saleswoman  should  be  able  to  im- 
part it  to  her  customer.  The  customer  may,  of  course, 
ask  for  and  prefer  unbecoming  colors,  but  this  hap- 
pens very  rarely.  She  is  usually  more  than  grateful 
if  her  time  is  not  wasted  in  trying  on  hats  which  are 
not  suited  to  her  coloring. 


Chapter  XIV 

FORM  OR  SHAPE  IN  MILLINERY 

Choosing  a  Hat 

"  I  think  I'll  get  a  tricorn,"  said  a  friend  of  mine, 
and  a  tricorn  she  bought  forthwith.  In  this  way  many 
people  decide  the  shape  of  the  hats  they  wear.  "  I 
want  a  large-brimmed  hat  or  a  poke,"  one  thinks  and 
tries  to  find  the  prettiest  hat  of  the  type  previously 
decided  upon.  This  method  does  not  always  result  in 
securing  the  most  becoming  hat,  unless  from  previous 
experience  the  customer  first  considers  what  shape  is 
best  suited  to  her  face.  In  addition  to  the  question  of 
color,  there  is  the  equally  important  problem  of  the 
lines  of  the  hat.  It  is  necessary  to  fit  the  hat  to  the 
head  to  determine  its  becomingness. 

Importance  of  the  Lines  of  a  Hat 

The  power  of  the  line  is  almost  inconceivable. 
Faces  seem  to  grow  shorter  or  longer,  fuller  or  thin- 
ner, noses  appear  to  raise  or  to  lower  their  tips,  and 
even  eyes  seem  to  grow  slanting  or  straight,  large  or 
small,  under  the  influence  of  the  shape  of  the  hat. 

139 


140  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

One  artist  says  of  hats :  "  The  funny  punch  in  the 
brim  may  bring  out  all  the  gayety  of  a  face ;  the  long, 
soft  droop  may  accentuate  its  pathos;  the  jaunty  up- 
fling  on  the  side  may  give  it  a  sudden  brave  note," 
whereas :  "  the  wrong  line  may  accentuate  in  a  face, 
not  its  bravery  but  its  coarseness,  not  its  prettiness  but 
its  pettiness,  not  its  pathos  but  its  heaviness." 

The  science  of  this  witchery  of  line  is  elusive  and 
only  generalities  can  be  stated  concerning  it,  but  the 
same  persistent,  alert  observation  and  effort  by  which 
your  eye  for  color  is  cultivated  will  develop  sensitive- 
ness to  the  magical  influence  of  a  line. 

The  shape  of  the  hat  may  be  analyzed  under  several 
headings : 

1.  The  relation  of  the  parts  to  each  other. 

2.  The   kinds   of   lines,    curves,   and   angles,   and 

their  relation  to  each  other. 

3.  The  relation  which  the  form  of  the  hat  bears  to 

the   different   proportions   of   the    faces  and 
heads  of  different  individuals. 

Relation  Between  the  Parts  of  a  Hat 

The  relation  of  the  parts  of  the  hat  to  one  another 
has  to  do  with  the  amount  of  trimming  and  the  size 
of  the  brim  in  proportion  to  the  crown. 

There  should  be  the  right  proportion  between  the 
width  of  the  brim  and  the  height  of  the  crown*  A 


FORM  OR  SHAPE  IN  MILLINERY  141 

poorly  proportioned  hat  may  look  top-heavy  or  too 
much  like  a  pancake.  However,  rightly  arranged  and 
massed,  trimming  may  correct  this  fault  in  a  hat. 

Another  way  in  which  a  hat  may  offend  the  eye  is 
by  the  appearance  of  too  much  weight  at*the  back, 
front,  or  side.  A  hat  should  look  as  though  it  would 
stay  upon  the  head  of  the  wearer  without  great  effort 
upon  her  part.  If  an  unusually  large  amount  of  trim- 
ming is  upon  one  side  of  the  hat  body  or  brim  or  at 
the  back  or  front,  it  should  be  there  only  to  bring  out 
or  to  correct  something  in  the  face.  For  instance,  a 
head  that  is  too  narrow  from  back  to  front,  may  wear 
a  hat  with  an  extra  mass  in  the  back. 

Lines,  Curves,  and  Angles,  and  Their  Relations 

Lines  are  either  straight,  broken,  or  curved.  In  a 
hat,  perfection  of  curve  makes  a  beautiful  shape.  The 
curved  lines  should  (seem  to  flow  into  one  another,  or 
to  grow  out  of  one 'another;  they  should  not  come  to 
abrupt  stops,  but  go  on  invisibly  in  our  imagination. 

A  peculiar  characteristic  of  a  line  is  that  when  the 
eye  once  rests  upon  it,  it  tends  to  follow  the  direction 
of  the  line;  this  is  why  the  most  skilfully  designed 
curves  seem  to  grow  out  of  each  other.  For  instance, 
trimming  often  softens  into  a  delicate  little  curve  the 
otherwise  sharp  angle  at  the  base  of  the  crown  where 
it  joins  the  brim.  If  the  hat  is  made  up  of  curved 


142  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

lines,  the  trimming  should  follow  these  in  order  to  be 
artistic. 

If  the  hat  has  been  fashioned  stiffly  in  a  more  tail- 
ored style  with  broken  lines  and  angles,  the  decorations 
are  correspondingly  stiff  er,  more  angular,  and  tailored.^ 
This  principle  should  guide  one  in  choosing  trimming. 
Have  you  not  noticed  as  a  general  thing  that  soft, 
floppy  hats  have  more  curving,  flowing,  graceful  trim- 
mings than  tailored  hats,  which  favor  straighter 
feathers,  stick-ups,  stiff  bows,  and  other  angular  trim- 
mings? Trimming  which  sticks  right  out  from  some 
spot  on  a  hat  is  apt  to  be  inartistic,  awkward,  and  diffi- 
cult to  wear.  Lines  which  curve  and  grow  out  of  one 
another  are  said  to  have  rhythm,  like  a  flowing  melody 
in  a  song.  Sharp  angles  and  lines  suddenly  breaking 
away  from  the  direction  in  which  the  eye  expects  them 
to  go  are  harder  to  handle.  Certain  seasons  bring  into 
favor  more  artistic  shapes  and  methods  of  trimming 
than  do  others. 

Symmetry  in  a  Hat 

If  a  hat  is  exactly  the  same  on  one  side  as  the  other, 
that  is,  if  one  side,  trimming  and  all,  supposing  it 
folded  over  were  to  coincide  with  the  other,  the  hat  is 
said  to  be  symmetrical.  Such  a  hat  is  more  difficult  to 
wear  than  one  which  has  different  but  well-balanced 
sides,  and  if  slightly  askew  is  apt  to  call  attention  to  the 


FORM  OR  SHAPE  IN  MILLINERY  143 

fact  that  it  is  not  on  straight.  A  symmetrical  hat 
never  should  be  worn  by  a  person  with  irregular 
features.  A  very  pretty  girl  whose  nose  is  slightly  to 
one  side  cannot  wear  a  symmetrical  hat  nor  have  her 
hair  parted  in  the  middle  without  calling  attention  to 
irregular  feature. 


Balance 

By  a  well-balanced  hat  is  meant  one  in  which  the 
weight  or  mass  on  one  side  balances  the  other.  For 
instance,  if  a  mass  of  trimming  is  on  one  side,  there 
should  be  more  brim  on  the  other  to  balance  it.  Color 
cleverly  used  helps  in  securing  proper  balance.  A 
bright  bit  of  color  which  attracts  the  attention  may 
outweigh  a  larger  mass  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  hat. 

One  side  of  a  trimmed  hat  should  appear  to  have 
the  same  mass  or  weight,  if  not  the  same  shape,  as  the 
other  side.  Two  curves  of  equal  length  are  ,not  so 
good  as  two  of  unequal  length.  Too  much  contrast  or 
variance  is  as  bad  as  too  much  similarity  in  a  hat. 

Adapting  the  Size  and  Shape  of  a  Hat  to  the  Wearer 

All  these  relations  of  line  and  mass  of  the  hat  are 
most  important  in  connection  with  the  person  who  is  to 
wear  it.  The  type  of  her  face,  the  size  and  shape  of 
her  head,  and  her  figure  must  be  considered. 

A  dainty  little  lady  does  not  look  well  hidden  under 


144  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

a  hat  too  large  for  her  The  husband  of  a  certain 
woman  insisted  on  her  wearing  large  hats,  which  made 
her  look  thin,  and  she  could  not  change  his  ideas  be- 
cause she  did  not  know  enough  about  form  to  convince 
him  that  he  was  wrong. 

A  large  woman  looks  ridiculous  in  a  hat  that  is  eithe 
too  small  or  too  large.     She  should  divert  attention 
from  her  size  by  avoiding  extremes. 

A  tall,  well-proportioned  woman,  or  one  of  medium 
height,  may  wear  a  large  hat,  unless  she  has  a  thin 
face. 

A  short  woman  should  not  be  made  to  look  shorter 
by  a  flat,  low  hat,  any  more  than  the  height  of  a  tall 
woman  should  be  much  increased  by  a  high  hat. 

A  hat  that  extends  beyond  the  width  of  the  shoul- 
ders is  considered  inartistic. 

The  lines  of  the  hat  when  on  the  head  have  to  be 
considered  in  their  relation  to  the  lines  of  the  face  in 
order  to  bring  out  good  features  and  to  make  poor  ones 
more  attractive. 

There  are  a  number  of  general  types  of  faces,  but 
these  are  sometimes  changed  or  modified  by  some  un- 
usual element  in  the  face,  head,  or  person,  so  that 
while  the  following  discussion  of  types  and  the  shapes 
of  hats  that  suit  them  is  true  in  a  general  way,  you 
will  wish  to  test  its  application  for  yourself.  Study 
the  lines  of  people's  hats  and  see  how  they  affect  the 


FORM  OR  SHAPE  IN  MILLINERY  145 

faces  of  the  wearers.  You  cannot  do  this  in  imagi- 
nation. The  best  method  is  to  try  hats  upon  your 
friends  and  to  analyze  the  effect  of  each  hat  you  place 
upon  the  head  of  a  customer. 

The  Full,  Round  Face 

A  full,  round  face  needs  to  have  this  fullness  re- 
duced, so  that  threatening  fatness  may  look  like  soft, 
normal  curves.  The  face  needs  lengthening  generally 
and  reducing  in  size. 

For  such  a  face  a  small  hat  is  bad  if  it  has  no  brim  or 
a  turned-up  brim.  Medium  and  large-brimmed  hats 
are  more  becoming.  ( See  Figures  8  and  9. ) 

A  hat  with  large  deep  curves  would  probably  not 
look  so  well  as  one  with  a  moderately  curving  or  a 
straight  brim,  as  the  curves  in  the  face  are  too  broad 
already. 

^\A  sailor  looks  well  on  a  woman  of  this  type,  and 
also  a  brim  turned  down  slightly  on  one  side  and  up 
on  the  other.  It  is  becoming  to  have  the  brim  wider 
in  front  than  at  the  sides,  as  this  also  lessens  the  round 
effect  of  the  face. 

Flat  Features 

The  person  with  flat  features  is  a  type  similar  to  the 
one  with  round  features  in  the  treatment  needed,  so 
that  the  same  suggestions  apply  to  her.  An  oval  or  a 


10  II 

Figure    8.    A  Full  Face  Cannot  Wear  a  Turban 
Figure    9.    A  Full  Face  Looks  Well  in  a  Large-Brimmed  Hat 
Figure  10.    A  Snub-Nosed  Person  Should  Not  Wear  a  Turban 
Figure  u.    A  Person  with  Regular  Features  Can  Wear  a  Turban 

146 


I 

FORM  OR  SHAPE  IN  MIlLlNERY  147 

round  hat,  unless  the  front  is  deeper  than  the  back,  in- 
creases the  flat  appearance  of  her  face,  but  a  brim 
wider  in  front  would  be  becoming,  unless  she  had  a 
snub  nose. 


Snub  Noses 

To  avoid  accentuating  a  decidedly  snub*  nose,  avoid 
a  crown  of  round  conical  shape  or  hats  that  turn  up 
front,  or  that  have  no  brim  in  front.  ( See 
10  and  n.)  A  brim  of  medium  or  large  size 
will  hide  a  snub  nose  and  tend  to  make  it  look 
straighter. 

The  Thin  Face 

Softness  can  be  given  to  the  lower  part  of  a  thin 
face  by  wearing  the  hair  low  and  not  too  tight  upon 
the  head.  Waving  it  helps  also. 

A  small  hat  with  a  narrow  or  up-turned  brim  is 
becoming  to  the  thin- faced  woman.  (See  Figure  12.) 
She  can  also  wear  large  crowns  and  shapes  that  are 
mostly  crown.  However,  her  nose  may  be  too  sharp 
or  too  large  for  the  up-turned  brim  in  the  front  of  the 
hat. 

A  thin  face  with  a  sharp  prominent  nose  does  not 
look  well  in  tricorns.  A  large  hat  makes  a  thin  face 
look  too  peaked,  and  small  by  contrast.  (See  Figure 


14  15 

Figure  12.    A  Thin  Face  Looks  Well  in  a  Turban 
Figure  13.    A  Thin  Face  Cannot  Wear  a  Large-Brimmed  Hat 
Figure  14.    An  Older  Face  Needs  a  Hat  Soft  in  Material  and 

Trimmings 
Figure  15.    A    Youthful    Face    Can    Wear    a    Hat    with    Stiff, 

Straight  Lines  in  Shape  and  Trimming 
148 


FORM  OR  SHAPE  IN  MILLINERY  149 

13.)     A  small  hat  brings  out  all  the   fullness  and 
delicacy  of  curve  that  there  is. 

The  oval  shape,  or  one  narrower  from  side  to  side 
than  frorn  back  to  front,  is  good  for  her.  She  should 
avoid  hats  with  conical  crowns. 

The  Angular 

The  sharp-featured  face  offers  much  the  same  prob- 
thin  face  but  even  more  difficulty,  for  this 
be  careful  to  choose  a  hat  with  no  lines 
tmitaccentuate  the  angles  of  her  nose,  cheeks,  chin,  etc. 

Softness  in  the  curves  and  lines  of  the  hat,  as  well  as 
softness-  in  its  materials,  is  more  becoming  to  her. 

Sharp,  stiff,  tailored  hats  are  apt  to  increase  her 
angularity  and  thinness. 

Velvet  and  other  pile  fabrics,  and  soft  straws  are 
more  becoming  than  stiff,  glossy  materials. 

Age 

For  older  people  the  materials  and  lines  of  the  hat 
should  be  soft,  in  order  to  ease  the  lines  of  the  face. 
As  has  just  been  said,  gloss  in  materials  usually  sug- 
gests stiffness. 

An  elderly  face  cannot  wear  a  youthful  hat  with  the 
straight,  stiff  lines  that  the  young  can  stand,  but  de- 
mands moderate,  soft  curves.  (See  Figures  14  and 

IS-)' 


MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 


The  large,  floppy  style  that  is  also  becoming  to 
youthful  faces  is  apt  to  cast  shadows  on  an  older  face 
and  to  make  its  wrinkles  look  deeper. 

Foliage  and  flowers,  graceful  feathers,  plumes,  and 
soft  ribbons  make  more  becoming  styles  of  trimming 
than  stiffer  forms,  like  stick-ups. 

Sometimes  you  will  have  to  suggest  hats  for  a 
younger  face  prematurely  aged,  with  worried,  worn 
lines,  which  needs  the  same  softening  that 
face  does.  The  old-fashioned  type  of  stiff,  l 
straw  bonnet  or  hat  for  older  ladies  could  not  possibly 
have  been  more  unbecoming,  and  is  rarely  seen  now 
except  in  cartoons  of  old  maids.  Fortunately  it  is  the 

style  for  older  people 
to  dress  more  becom- 
ingly at  the  present 
time. 

Medium  Type  of  Face 

The  face,  which  is 
neither  too  full  nor  too 
thin,  with  fairly  regu- 
lar features,  can  wear 
almost  any  hat,  large 
or  small,  but  the  lines 
and  materials  of  some 

bring  out  good  points 
than   othefs   do 


Figure  je. 


to  Hide 


FORM  OR  SHAPE  IN  MILLINERY  151 

It  is  as  much  a  test  of  skill  and  good  taste  to  choose 
an  actively  becoming  hat  for  this  customer  as  it  is  to 
suit  harder  types. 

The  medium  face,  as  indeed  all  others,  usually  looks 
better  if  some  of  the  hair  is  allowed  to  show  on  the 
forehead  below  the  edge  of  the  hat.  No  matter  what 
the  style,  the  hair  should  never  quite  touch  the  eye- 
brows, as  this  destroys  their  pretty  lines.  (See  Fig- 
ure 1 6.) 

Extremes 

Extremes  of  any  kind  are  to  be  avoided,  as  they  are 
hard  to  wear  and  have  to  be  chosen  with  great  care. 
Americans  usually  modify  extremes  in  imported 
French  hats.  Often  the  too  boldly  up-flung  side  of  a 
hat  brim  imparts  a  coarse,  aggressive  look  to  the  face, 
instead  of  the  piquant  expression  a  tastefully  turned- 
up  brim  would  give. 

Whether  a  woman  is  rich  or  poor,  it  is  possible  for 
her  to  buy  a  becoming  hat.  It  all  depends  upon  her 
taste,  and  that  of  the  salesperson.  A  general  smatter- 
ing of  knowledge  will  not  be  of  much  use,  but  per- 
sistent, careful  study  on  the  salesperson's  part  along 
the  lines  suggested  will  not  fail  to  develop  the  ability 
to  choose  tasteful  and  suitable  hats  for  customers. 


Chapter  XV 

MAKING  AND  TRIMMING  HATS 

Relation  Between  the  Saleswoman  and  the  Workroom 

Every  Millinery  Department  has  its  workroom  for 
the  alteration  and  trimming  of  hats,  and  expert  milli- 
ners have  acquired  their  skill  through  a  long  course  of 
training.  Some  salespeople,  however,  may  be  used  in 
the  workroom  between  seasons  to  their  own  and  the 
store's  advantage,  if  they  know  the  simpler  points 
about  custom  work  and  have  deft  fingers. 

Such  knowledge  will  also  help  them  to  sell  exclusive 
hats,  as  they  can  point  out  the  differences  between 
these  and  the  more  common  styles.  Suggestions  as  to 
the  renovating  of  hats  and  trimmings  are  also  useful 
to  the  saleswoman  and  appreciated  by  the  customer. 

Hat  Frames 

The  foundation  of  a  hand-made  hat  is  usually  a 
frame,  which  may  be  altered  from  a  factory-made 
frame  or  made  entirely  by  hand.  Hat  wire  and  wil- 
low make  a  simple  and  practical  foundation  which  is 
much  used.  If  a  frame  is  to  be  made  entirely  of  wire 

152 


MAKING  AND  TRIMMING  HATS  153 

and  then  covered  with  crinoline,  frame  hat  wire,  fine 
tie  wire,  and  a  pair  of  pliers  or  pincers  are  necessary. 
Measurements  are  marked  on  the  inside  of  the  hat  to  be 
copied,  such  as  the  outside  edge  of  the  brim,  the  width 
of  the  brim  in  the  front,  sides,  and  back,  the  depth  of 
the  crown,  the  diameter  of  the  tip  of  the  crown,  the  size 
around  the  top,  and  the  size  of  the  base  of  the  crown. 
In  instructions  given  for  making  hats,  these  are  called 
the  front  brim,  back,  right,  left,  head,  edge,  crown, 
height  of  crown,  side  to  side,  etc.  In  fancy  shapes 
other  measurements  may  be  required. 

The  Buckram  or  Willow  Frame 

A  simple  frame  may  be  made  of  willow  with  a  cir- 
cular or  oval  piece  for  the  top  of  the  crown,  a  piece 
shaped  like  a  man's  collar  for  the  sides  of  the  crown, 
and  a  circular  or  oval  piece  with  a  hole  in  the  center 
the  size  of  the  head,  for  the  brim.  A  pattern  for  the 
sides  of  the  crown  can  be  made  by  cutting  a  straight 
piece  of  paper  and  pinning  many  darts  in  it  until  it 
fits  the  top  of  the  crown  and  the  head.  The  edge  is 
wired  by  sewing  edge  hat  wire  with  a  strong  thread 
and  buttonhole  stitch,  around  the  edge  of  the  brim,  the 
edge  of  the  top  of  the  crown,  and  the  base  of  the 
crown. 

Buckram  is  too  heavy  to  be  much  used,  although 
formerly  it  was  used  a  great  deal. 


154  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

The  Wire  Frame 

In  a  frame  made  wholly  of  wire,  the  crown  and  brim 
may  be  made  together,  or  the  crown  may  be  completed 
first  and  then  the  brim  extended  from  that.  If  crown 
and  brim  are  made  together,  a  hoop  of  heavy  frame 
hat  wire  is  made  for  the  edge  of  the  top  of  the  crown, 
and  another  for  the  base  of  the  crown;  where  the  hoop 
ends  overlap,  fine  tie  wire  is  used  to  hold  them  in  place. 
Heavy  wire  is  then  used  to  make  the  spokes  of  the  cart- 
wheel effect,  bent  at  right  angles  over  the  edge  of  the 
top  of  the  crown,  and  bent  'out  again  at  the  base  of  the 
crown  (or  otherwise  twisted  once  around  the  wire  at 
the  base  of  the  crown)  to  form  the  brim.  Where 
wires  are  not  twisted  but  only  bent,  fine  tie  wire  must 
be  used  to  fasten  such  crossing  of  wires  as  the  work 
progresses.  The  outer  edge  of  the  brim  is  made  by 
twisting  the  spokes  once  each  about  the  frame  hat  wire 
which  is  being  used  for  the  edge  of  the  brim.  The 
ends  of  this  wire  are  held  together  by  fine  tie  wire  as 
stated  above.  The  ends  of  the  spokes  should  be  cut 
off  in  such  a  way  that  they  do  not  stick  up.  Frame 
hat  wire  is  then  run  around  the  form  as  often  as  neces- 
sary to  make  a  firm,  circular  or  oval  shape,  and  a  bit 
of  the  fine  tie  wire  is  used  to  hold  the  crossing  wires  in 
place. 

If  the  crown  is  to  be  made  complete  before  starting 
the  brim,  the  crown  is  finished  off  by  twisting  the 


MAKING  AND  TRIMMING  HATS  155 

spokes  about  the  base,  and  cutting  off  their  ends.  New 
spokes  then  start  from  about  an  inch  above  the  base 
of  the  crown,  being  twisted  around  the  circular  wire  at 
that  point  and  the  ends  cut  off,  and  at  the  base  are 
twisted  or  bent  outward  at  right  angles  for  the  brim. 
The  form  is  made  stronger  if  the  spoke  wire  is  twisted 
instead  of  bent. 

These  frames  may  be  covered  with  thin  crinoline  or 
similar  material  by  securing  with  strong  thread. 

Bows 

Some  standard  bows  are  the  rosette,  loop  rosette, 
butterfly  bow,  tied  bow,  Alsatian,  and  fan-shaped  bow. 

There  are  a  few  tricks  in  making  bows.  The  simple 
cravat  bow  is  one  that  everyone  knows  how  to  make. 
Upon  its  evenness  and  grace  depends  its  attractiveness. 

Rosettes  may  be  made  in  several  ways.  A  common 
way  is  to  fold  a  ribbon  in  ten  or  twelve  even  lengths, 
hold  them  together  evenly  and  smoothly,  and  tie  or  sew 
another  bit  of  ribbon  about  the  center  of  the  loops. 
The  loops  can  be  pulled  out  into  various  shapes,  flat  or 
stand-up. 

A  method  which  will  make  a  perfectly  uniform  and 
even  rosette,  with  the  same  side  of  the  ribbon  always 
out,  is  to  measure  the  loops  of  ribbon  half  the  length 
of  the  rosette  just  described,  that  is,  not  measuring 
for  a  double  loop  but  for  a  single  one.  The  ribbon  will 


156  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

be  folded  flat  back  and  forth  about  twenty  times. 
With  needle  and  thread  every  other  crease  is  caught 
together,  forming  a  straight  series  of  loops.  Different 
effects  are  obtained  either  by  drawing  the  threads  tight 
at  the  base  of  the  loops  or  by  leaving  the  base  ungath- 
ered,  just  sewed  flat.  This  method  is  used  for  making 
only  two  or  three  loops  for  a  large  stick-up,  or  for 
any  series  of  loops.  If  the  series  of  loops  is  to  form  a 
rosette,  the  length  of  loops  is  twisted  circularly  and 
caught  with  a  thread.  Some  bows  are  made  of  ribbon 
wired  and  glued  together  to  give  the  effect  of  a  bow. 

One  can  practice  bow-making  with  paper,  old  ribbon, 
or  a  strip  of  narrow  cloth. ..  Some  bows  need  wire 
tacked  on  the  inside  to  hold  them  erect. 

Method  of  Affixing  Trimmings 

Formerly  all  trimming  was  sewn  to  the  hat,  but  now 
there  are  a  number  of  kinds  of  "  Milliner's  Glue,"  or 
cement,  which  is  used  a  great  deal  in  fastening  flow- 
ers, ribbons,  etc.,  to  the  hat.  These  liquids  must  resist 
moisture,  not  injure  the  materials,  be  permanent,  and 
have  a  strong  adhesive  power. 

Often  trimmings  are  attached  to  the  hat  by  slipping 
them  through  slits  in  the  hat  itself. 

Linings 

Mercerized  materials  and  China  and  taffeta  silks 


MAKING  AND  TRIMMING  HATS  157 

are  generally  used  for  hat  linings.  These  are  of  two 
styles.  One  style  is  drawn  up  in  the  center  by  a 
thread  or  tape  and  fastened  to  the  apex  of  the  crown. 
The  other  fitted  style  is  very  much  like  the  linings  in 
men's  hats;  it  is  in  two  pieces,  one  placed  flat  on  the 
inside  of  the  crown,  the  other  placed  around  the  sides 
of  the  crown  and  attached  to  the  other  piece.  Linings 
should  be  put  in  slightly  above  the  base  of  the  crown 
so  as  not  to  show. 

Maline  is  used  for  lining  transparent  hats.  Satin 
and  ribbon  are  now  used  also.  Linings  usually  match 
the  hat  in  color. 

Some  workrooms  buy  linings  all  ready  to  sew  in,  and 
it  takes  a  skilful  girl  between  a  minute  and  a  half  and 
four  minutes  to  sew  one  in. 

Freshening  and  Cleaning 

Customers  will  appreciate  information  upon  the  care 
and  cleaning  of  millinery.  The  saleswoman  should  be 
able  to  tell  her  some  ways  of  doing  this  at  home. 

To  freshen  velvet  and  to  take  out  the  creases,  it  is 
steamed.  A  good  method  for  the  amateur  is  to  run  it 
back  and  forth  over  the  open  top  or  spout  of  a  kettle  of 
boiling  water.  Pressing  velvet  on  the  surface  with  a 
hot  iron  lays  the  nap  flat  and  makes  a  glossy  panne 
velvet  effect.  If  the  nap  is  not  to  be  laid  flat  it  must 
not  be  ironed  on  the  right  side  except  with  a  cool  iron. 


158  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Straw  hats  may  be  cleaned  with  a  good  soap  and 
warm  water,  then  bleached,  stuffed  with  coarse  paper 
to  restore  the  shape,  and  dried  in  the  sun.  This 
method  gives  a  cream-white  result.  A  dead  white  is 
obtained  by  the  use  of  oxalic  acid,  but  this  is  not  good 
for  the  straw.  Lemon  juice  is  a  good  bleach  for  hats. 
A  faded  colored  straw  may  be  improved  with  a  fresh 
coat  of  shellac  polish  made  for  the  purpose.  The  way 
in  which  hats  are  put  away  has  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
their  preservation  and  fresh  appearance.  It  preserves 
the  shape  of  a  hat  to  put  it  on  a  form,  or  pin  it  up  by 
the  inside,  so  that  the  brim  is  not  allowed  to  support  it. 

The  curling  of  feathers  is  rather  difficult  as  an 
amateur  is  apt  to  break  the  flues.  Several  flues  are 
pulled  together  between  the  thumb  and  the  back  of  the 
knife;  this  process  is  repeated  until  the  flues  are  suffi- 
ciently curled. 

Although  bleaching  feathers  requires  chemical 
knowledge,  white  feathers  that  are  soiled  and  yellow 
may  be  improved  immensely  by  scrubbing  them  with 
castile  soap  and  warm  water,  and  after  rinsing  dyeing 
them  the  faintest  blue. 

Feathers  may  be  dyed  in  the  lighter  shades  by  fol- 
lowing the  methods  adopted  by  professional  dyers  as 
given  in  Chapter  VIII.  About  two-thirds  of  a  tea- 
spoonful  of  either  formic  or  oxalic  acid  in  a  pint  of 
water  will  set  the  dye  for  one  or  two  feathers. 


Chapter  XVI 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  SALESPEOPLE 

What  the  Customer  Is  Wearing 

The  skilful  salesperson  notices  a  customer  as  she 
approaches  and  besides  being  ready  with  a  pleasant, 
alert  look  and  a  greeting,  if  it  seems  acceptable,  ob- 
serves what  the  customer  is  wearing,  whether  it  is 
becoming,  what  color  and  kind  of  hat  she  has  on, 
whether  it  goes  well  with  her  clothes,  and  her  general 
type  of  face  and  figure.  She  does  not  stop  this  mental 
observation  when  she  begins  talking  to  the  customer; 
but  she  needs  to  be  alert  and  to  continue  her  obser- 
vations while  the  customer  is  standing  at  the  counter. 
Perhaps  it  is  the  courteous  practice  in  your  department 
for  you  to  meet  the  customers  as  they  come  in.  A 
look  of  greeting  serves  as  well  as  spoken  words  and 
since  some  customers  object  to  being  spoken  to,  a  cor- 
dial appearance  of  attention  will  invite  them  to  speak 
if  they  so  desire. 

Visiting  Among  Salespeople 

It  is  disconcerting  and  makes  a  customer  feel  unwel- 

159 


160  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

come  to  enter  and  find  the  salespeople  idly  talking 
among  themselves  and  paying  no  attention  to  her. 

Do  you  not  think  that  in  most  cases  this  visiting 
among  the  salespeople,  especially  noticeable  on  dull 
days,  and  a  practice  which  every  manager  objects  to, 
is  due  to  a  lack  of  ambition  and  intelligent  interest  on 
their  part  ?  There  are  so  many  things  they  might  do ! 
There  is  no  lack  of  opportunity  for  study  in  this  de- 
partment. They  might  be  studying  materials,  straws, 
color,  form,  trying  trimmings  on  hats,  and  even  learn- 
ing how  to  talk  more  effectively  to  the  customers. 

Learning  to  Talk  About  Hats 

How  many  different  words  do  you  think  can  be 
found  to  describe  a  certain  hat?  If  several  salespeople 
try  to  think  of  every  possible  good  expression,  begin- 
ning with  each  letter  of  the  alphabet  in  turn,  the  num- 
ber of  words  to  be  found  is  remarkable.  For  instance, 
each  person  suggests  a  word  beginning  with  "  a " 
which  will  describe  a  chosen  hat,  and  this  search  for 
words  keeps  going  around  the  circle  till  no  more  can 
be  found  beginning  with  "  a  "  and  then  "  b  "  is  taken 
up.  Each  word  is  put  down  on  a  paper  and  the  result 
counted. 

Such  a  game  will  help  the  salespeople  to  avoid  the 
common,  poor,  everyday  expressions  which  have  been 
BO  overworked  and  abused  that  often  they  even  offend 


SUGGESTIONS  TO  SALESPEOPLE  l6l 

customers.  It  is  not  necessary  to  cite  them.  "  Sweet," 
"  dear,"  "  dressy,"  "  stunning,"  "  little,"  are  some  of 
them,  and  there  are  dozens  of  others. 

Trade  Papers  and  Home  Study 

A  chance  for  interesting  reading  and  study  is  to  be 
found  in  the  magazines  and  papers  which  the  manager 
of  the  department  takes.  He  is  always  very  willing 
to  loan  them  to  interested  people. 

A  great  number  of  salespeople  as  well  as  buyers  sub- 
scribe personally  to  a  good  department  store  paper, 
which  contains  items  of  interest  for  every  department. 
Even  if  only  one  idea  is  obtained  from  an  article,  it  is 
worth  while  to  read  it. 

Factory  Visiting 

In  certain  cities  it  may  be  possible  for  the  salespeople 
to  arrange  to  visit  some  factories  that  produce  articles 
in  their  line.  Many  managers  would  be  only  too 
glad  to  take  the  salespeople  if  they  are  interested,  and 
nothing  could  be  more  instructive  and  helpful  than 
these  trips. 

The  Care  of  Stock 

Perhaps  one  of  the  most  important  and  least  recog- 
nized opportunities  to  study  merchandise  lies  in  the 
daily  care  of  stock.  Simple  dusting,  rearranging,  and 
inspection  may  seem  a  homely  task,  but  it  affords  a 


162  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

splendid  chance  to  handle,  examine,  and  become  inti- 
mately familiar  with  every  kind  of  merchandise  in  the 
department.  It  affords  an  opportunity  to  learn  prices, 
and  this  knowledge  may  afterwards  be  helpful  in  mak- 
ing a  sale.  While  a  good  stock-keeper  may  not  be  a 
merchandise  expert,  an  expert  in  merchandise  is  always 
a  good  stock-keeper. 

The  duty  of  caring  for  the  stock  should  not  be  done 
listlessly  and  carelessly,  but  intelligently,  with  every 
faculty  awake  to  the  opportunity  of  learning  the 
goods.  In  addition,  good  stock-keeping  is  of  the  ut- 
most importance  to  the  ambitious  saleswoman,  for  by 
the  personal  attention  she  gives  it  she  can  keep  her 
stock  in  the  freshest  and  most  salable  condition,  and 
thereby  avoid  the  handicap  of  soiled  or  damaged  mer- 
chandise. 

Such  care  helps  to  prevent  accumulations  of  slow- 
moving  merchandise  and  the  consequent  losses  through 
reductions  or  mark-downs.  An  expert  stock-keeper  is 
often  invaluable  to  her  manager,  and  frequently  draws 
a  higher  salary  than  a  co-worker  who  sells  more,  but 
does  not  keep  her  stock  as  though  it  were  her  own 
treasured  personal  possession. 

Seating  the  Customer 

Care  in  seating  a  customer  comfortably  before  a 
mirror  is  a  very  important  factor  in  making  a  sale. 


SUGGESTIONS  TO  SALESPEOPLE  163 

Fatigue  leads  to  indecision  and  many  women  leave 
without  buying  just  because  they  are  tired. 

Careful  Selection  of  Stock 

After  your  customer  is  seated,  bring  her  well- 
selected  hats  to  try  on.  It  makes  a  good  impression  to 
know  your  prices  accurately;  so  if  you  do  not  know 
the  price  of  a  hat,  it  is  well  to  glance  at  the  price  ticket 
without  being  observed  by  the  customer.  It  may  not 
be  necessary  to  show  many  hats  if  they  are  well  chosen. 
The  salesperson  with  taste  and  judgment  can  suit  her 
patrons  very  easily.  How  many  times  do  you  sell  a 
customer  the  very  first  hat  you  show  her?  Do  you 
know  what  is  the  proportion  of  your  sales  to  the  num- 
ber of  people  whom  you  approach? 

It  is  well  to  keep  a  record  of  this  for  a  time  and  to 
note  how  your  percentage  increases  with  study.  The 
percentage  of  the  persons  entering  a  certain  depart- 
ment to  whom  sales  were  made  has  been  known  to  in- 
crease in  three  weeks  from  52  to  90  per  cent  when  the 
salespeople  were  studying  their  merchandise  and  the 
proper  methods  of  salesmanship. 

Customers  Who  Are  "  Just  Looking  " 

It  is  of  course  discouraging  to  have  a  woman  say  she 
is  "  just  looking."  But  why  does  she  say  it?  In  most 
cases  because  she  was  not  met  in  the  most  tactful  way. 


1 64  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

She  was  probably  asked  a  foolish  question  that  meant 
little,  such  as,  "  Are  you  looking  for  a  hat  ? "  or 
"Something  in  hats?"  which  forced  her  to  reply  in 
that  way.  She  has  come  with  an  interest  in  hats  or  she 
would  not  be  there.  Yet  she  did  not  want  to  place 
herself  in  a  position  where  she  might  be  made  to  buy 
or  to  admit  that  she  might  buy,  so  she  said  she  was 
"  just  looking." 

In  some  departments  such  an  expression  perhaps 
might  pass  with  the  salespeople,  but  as  you  know  it 
does  little  good  to  "  just  look  "  at  hats.  They  must 
be  tried  on  and  fitted  to  the  customer  before  anything 
definite  can  be  decided  about  them.  It  would  take  too 
powerful  an  imagination  to  picture  how  the  hat  off  the 
head  would  look  on  it. 

No  person,  therefore,  who  enters  the  department 
should  be  allowed  to  "  just  look  "  at  hats  without  a 
tactful  word.  If  she  does  not  realize  the  necessity  of 
trying  on  a  hat  to  find  out  whether  she  likes  it  or  not, 
she  should  be  tactfully  taught.  For  instance,  the  sales- 
person might  say,  "  It  is  hard  to  tell  how  a  hat  looks 
until  it  is  on  the  head.  I  should  be  glad  to  help  you  by 
fitting  you  even  if  you  do  not  wish  to  buy." 

Even  though  the  customer  says  she  does  not  intend 
to  buy,  the  wise  salesperson  should  be  willing  and 
ready  to  fit  her,  and  by  this  method  will  often  make  a 
sale. 


SUGGESTIONS  TO  SALESPEOPLE  165 

Avoiding  Questions 

It  is  of  the  first  importance  that  the  customer  should 
not  be  antagonized  by  the  questions  that  are  so  often 
asked  her.  The  best  way  is  to  ask  her  to  be  seated  and 
to  begin  to  show  her  merchandise  with  as  few  direct 
questions  as  possible. 

Every  question  that  you  can  avoid  asking  is  a  point 
gained.  Questions  create  antagonism  and  weariness 
and  if  you  can  find  out  your  customer's  ideas  about 
price,  size,  shape,  color,  etc.,  without  asking  a  single 
direct  question,  you  will  find  your  sales  and  your  clien- 
tele increasing. 

Show  her  the  hats  your  studies  tell  you  are  the  best 
suited  to  her,  and  from  her  comments  gather  all  her 
ideas  about  hats.  Follow  the  hints  she  gives  you,  and 
the  customer  herself  will  guide  you  to  a  successful  sale. 

Judging  a  Customer  by  Her  Dress 

It  is  a  fatal  mistake  to  assume  that  a  plainly  dressed 
woman  will  not  pay  a  high  price  for  something  that 
pleases  her.  Simple  dressing  is  often  the  mark  of  re- 
finement and  good  taste,  and  the  most  fashionable  peo- 
ple are  apt  to  dress  simply  and  plainly.  Many  ex- 
tremely wealthy  women  pride  themselves  upon  the  sim- 
plicity of  the  clothes  in  which  they  shop.  Sometimes 
they  purposely  shop  in  plain  clothes  to  avoid  over- 
solicitations  to  purchase,  but,  if  they  are  pleased,  there 


1 66  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

is  no  limit  to  the  amount  they  can  and  will  spend. 
Aside  from  the  unexpected  rewards  that  sometimes 
come  through  attentions  to  even  shabbily  dressed  peo- 
ple, it  is  no  more  than  simple  kindness  to  show  the  poor 
as  much  consideration  as  the  rich.  The  American 
spirit  of  democracy,  as  well  as  good  sense  and  good 
service,  requires  it. 

When  the  Customer  Leaves  Without  Buying 

If  a  customer  departs  without  buying,  no  unpleasant 
impression  should  be  left  on  her  mind  to  prevent  her 
return  at  another  time.  She  should  not  be  made  to 
feel  that  she  has  wasted  the  time  of  the  salesperson  or 
that  the  latter  is  the  least  bit  disappointed.  Even 
more  courtesy  should  be  shown  such  a  customer  than 
if  she  had  already  bought  a  hat,  because  she  still  has  a 
hat  to  buy  and  on  thinking  it  over  may  return  to  pur- 
chase. Some  departments  make  it  so  unpleasant  for  a 
customer  who  does  not  purchase  that  she  never  returns 
under  any  circumstances. 

If  the  customer  goes  away,  saying  that  she  wants  to 
look  elsewhere,  agree  with  her  pleasantly,  but  try  to 
impress  her  mind  so  powerfully  with  the  beauty  and 
becoming  effect  of  some  well-selected  hat  which  you 
have  shown  her  that  she  will  remember  and  return  for 
it.  If  you  make  the  mental  picture  of  the  hat  vivid 
enough,  she  is  sure  to  remember  it  and  nothing  she  sees 


SUGGESTIONS  TO  SALESPEOPLE     167 

elsewhere  will  put  it  out  of  her  mind.  The  old  saying, 
"  Distance  lends  enchantment/7  applies  to  her  remem- 
brance of  the  hat  and  she  will  not  be  happy  until  she 
possesses  it. 

Fitness  to  Meet  a  Customer 

Before  a  saleswoman  is  ready  to  meet  her  customer 
on  the  floor,  she  must  possess  a  wide  and  accurate  fund 
of  knowledge  in  regard  to  her  merchandise.  She  must 
be  dressed  in  the  proper  costume  for  a  business  woman 
in  order  to  prove  her  own  good  taste  and  to  look  ap- 
propriately gowned.  She  must  be  physically  well  and 
fit,  as  a  result  of  intelligent  care  of  her  health.  She 
must  be  prepared  to  conduct  the  sale  in  accordance 
with  the  rules  of  successful  selling. 

In  Chapter  XVIII  is  given  a  classification  of  the  stock 
of  a  typical  Millinery  Department.  This  classification 
gives  an  outline  of  the  information  upon  the  stock 
which  every  saleswoman  should  possess  before  she  is 
really  ready  to  meet  a  customer. 

The  following  outline  gives  the  specific  steps  to  fol- 
low in  the  average  sale  from  the  time  the  customer 
first  appears  until  she  leaves  the  department. 

STEPS  IN  A  SALE  IN  A  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

i.  Be  ready  for  the  customer. 

(a)  Wear  a  business  dress, 

(b)  Feel  well,  alert,  attentive. 


1 68  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

2.  Begin  to  study  her  the  moment  your  eyes  rest  upon  her. 
Observe  her  closely  as  she  approaches.     Meet  her  with  a 
pleasant  greeting. 

3.  Seat   her   and   bring   her   a    few   hats   that  you   know 
through  your  studies  are  the  most  becoming  to  her  type.     Be 
guided  by  the  hints  she  gives  you.     Do  not  ask  questions. 
Try  to  get  her  opinion,  not  to  make  her  agree  with  you.     Do 
not  argue. 

4.  Take  anything  she  dislikes  out  of  her  sight,  and  don't 
try  to  press  on  her  what  you  like  and  she  does  not.     The 
fewer  hats  she  has  finally  to  decide  upon,  the  better.     Elimi- 
nate the  less  becoming  ones. 

5.  Close  the  sale  pleasantly,  see  that  she  is  not  delayed 
longer  than  necessary.     Be  sure  to  take  her  name  and  address 
correctly,  invite  her  to  return,  and  suggest  something  which 
is  on  sale  in  another  part  of  the  store.     Do  not  leave  her 
unoccupied   if   it   is   necessary   for   her  to  wait   for  check, 
change,  or  package,  but  bring  to  her  notice  something  of 
interest.     Do   not,   however,   show  her  any  hat  that  might 
upset  the  sale  you  have  already  made. 

If  you  will  check  over  your  knowledge  and  abilities 
by  these  outlines,  and  if  you  can  honestly  grade  your- 
self well  on  each  point,  you  may  consider  yourself  an 
efficient  saleswoman,  and  your  increasing  sales  ancj 
salary  will  prove  it. 


Chapter  XVII 

HAT-MAKING  AT  HOME 

The  Economy  and  Pleasure  of  Making  Hats 

An  additional  few  points  will  be  useful  to  those  who 
wish  to  trim  their  hats  at  home.  There  is  much  to  be 
said  for  making  hats  at  home  whether  or  not  one  does 
it  as  a  matter  of  economy.  One  can  save  from  half  to 
all  the  cost  of  a  new  ready-trimmed  hat  by  using  old 
materials  and  freshening  them  up,  or  new  materials  on 
hand,  such  as  remnants,  etc.  The  creative  work  itself 
is  a  pleasure  to  most  women.  Girls  have  been  heard 
to  say,  "I'd  rather  make  a  hat  than  eat."  Sometimes 
a  club  of  girls  can  get  together  to  make  their  own 
hats,  having  a  buyer  for  the  club  to  purchase  at  whole- 
sale rates.  The  sum  total  of  their  experience  and  taste 
produces  lovely  hats. 

The  individual  not  only  can  save  greatly  by  making 
her  own  hats,  but  can  have  many  more,  match  them 
better  with  her  clothes,  and  learn  to  make  them  more 
becoming  and  better  suited  to  her  than  the  hats  she 
might  chance  to  buy.  Many  people  whom  one  sees  on 
the  street  are  wearing  unbecoming  hats,  or  at  least, 
those  that  are  not  the  most  becoming.  Some  get  so 

169 


170  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

tired  of  looking  that  they  buy  recklessly,  some  are 
overpersuaded  by  the  saleswoman,  and  some  have  not  a 
cultivated  taste. 

If  a  woman  is  able  to  alter  the  hats  she  buys  and 
adapt  them  to  her  own  style  when  necessary,  she  can 
make  them  more  individual  and  becoming.  Then  too, 
a  winter  hat  of  good  style  can  be  turned  into  a  sum- 
mer one,  and  vice  versa.  Perhaps  the  change  made 
by  covering  the  straw  crown  with  velvet  or  silk,  or  a 
different  trimming  will  do  the  trick.  From  every  point 
of  view  it  is  advisable  for  one  to  learn  how  to  make 
hats. 

Observation  the  First  Essential 

The  first  step  in  making  a  hat  at  home,  if  one  does 
not  know  exactly  how  one  wishes  to  make  it,  is  to 
leave  home  and  go  "window  shopping"  and  also  to 
look  through  the  millinery  departments  in  the  stores. 
It  is  well  to  do  this  in  order  to  be  strictly  up  to  date 
and  to  study  the  detail  in  vogue  at  the  time,  even 
though  one  does  have  in  mind  before  starting  an  image 
of  the  result  desired.  Fashion  varies  somewhat  from 
year  to  year  even  in  the  matter  of  putting  a  hat  to- 
gether, but  an  observant  person  may  learn  all  of 
fashion's  changes.  In  looking  at  hats  it  is  well  to 
know  and  apply  the  principles  contained  in  the  chapters 
on  color  and  form. 


HAT-MAKING  AT  HOME  171 

The  easiest  method  of  trimming  a  hat  and  also 
the  most  expensive  is  to  buy  a  shape  that  is  becoming 
and  trim  it  with  new  materials.  These  can  be  tried 
on  at  the  store  and  pinned  into  place  to  get  the  effect. 
The  saleswomen  are  often  very  helpful. 

Covering  the  Frame 

It  is  more  difficult  to  cover  the  frame.  Whoever 
trims  her  hats  will  soon  pass  from  the  easy  work  of 
putting  trimming  on  a  ready  body  hat  to  the  interest- 
ing task  of  making  the  complete  hat.  Cutting  the 
material  is  the  most  important  thing.  If  it  is  bought 
on  a  bias  there  must  be  more  of  it.  A  turn-up  or 
drooping  brim  is  usually  covered  with  material  on  the 
bias,  unless  it  is  of  very  sheer  material  and  a  soft 
gathered  effect  at  the  base  of  the  crown  is  desired. 
Instead  of  buying  a  new  frame  the  beginner  may  well 
take  an  old  hat,  if  in  good  style,  rip  it  to  pieces,  and 
use  the  old  covering  as  a  pattern.  Another  advantage 
of  ripping  up  an  old  hat  is  that  is  shows  just  how 
much  goods  to  buy.  A  straight  brim  is  simple,  being 
just  a  circle  with  a  hole  in  the  center.  Two  such  circles 
for  the  upper  and  under  sides  of  the  brim  can  some- 
times be  stitched  together  on  the  sewing  machine. 
The  seam  is  then  turned  inside. 

Wire  or  crinolin  shapes  can  be  bought.  The  frame 
should  sit  easily  upon  the  head.  If,  however,  a  shape 


172  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

is  too  large,  by  the  use  of  a  little  padding  or  a  bandeau 
it  can  be  made  to  fit.  The  covering  of  a  frame  has 
to  be  painstakingly  done,  as  nothing  shows  up  so  much 
as  uneven  work  or  rough  edges.  It  is  a  good  rule 
never  to  let  a  stitch  show,  except  in  embroidery.  A 
long  strong  needle  is  best,  with  strong  coarse  linen 
thread  for  most  of  the  work.  Unless  the  goods  is 
quite  smooth,  it  should  be  pressed  beforehand.  Old 
velvet  can  be  steamed  as  directed  in  Chapter  XV. 

The  Trimming 

Pin  the  trimming  on  first,  putting  everything  in  place, 
then  try  the  hat  on,  and  change  the  trimming  about  to 
find  the  most  becoming  effect.  Perhaps  some  trimming 
will  have  to  be  discarded  or  changed  for  something 
else.  Try  it  with  the  costume  with  which  it  is  to  be 
worn. 

The  Lining 

Hat  linings  can  be  bought,  in  white  or  black.  Home- 
made linings  can  be  cut  on  the  pattern  of  any  old 
well-fitting  lining,  and  can  be  made  to  match  the  hat. 
If  the  crown  is  transparent,  the  lining  may  be  left 
out,  or  a  colored  lining  can  be  used  as  a  trimming 
for  the  hat. 

Clubs  for  Hat-Making 

It  is  nice  for  a  club  of  .girls  to  buy  one  of  the 


HAT-MAKING  AT  HOME  173 

inexpensive  little  embroidering  machines  which  are  now 
extensively  sold.  They  do  neat,  quick  work.  A  club 
can  also  buy  braids  in  large  amounts  very  much  cheaper 
than  at  retail. 

Colored  Hats 

If  one  wishes  to  have  a  hat  to  match  a  costume, 
it  is  pretty  to  use  left  over  pieces  of  the  gown.  A 
summer  hat  can  combine  the  materials  of  several 
dresses,  if  they  happen  to  go  together,  and  so  be  suit- 
able to  wear  with  all  of  them.  It  is  well  to  have  a 
black  hat  always  in  one's  wardrobe,  as  it  goes  with 
everything. 

Hat  dyes  are  good  but  are  very  apt  to  shrink  the 
hat.  If  a  piece  of  paper  or  cloth  is  laid  on  the  head 
of  the  wearer  first,  and  then  the  wet  hat  put  on,  the 
dye  will  not  come  off  on  the  hair,  the  hat  will  dry  to 
fit  the  head  exactly,  and  will  not  shrink.  It  dries 
rapidly,  in  20  or  30  minutes.  Hat  shellac  will  freshen 
up  old  straws.  Milliners'  glue  is  useful  for  some  kinds 
of  trimming,  but  the  average  person  does  not  have  it. 

Reblocking 

Reblocking  of  hats  that  have  lost  their  shape  or 
need  to  be  changed  somewhat  is  done  at  many  little 
hat  repair  shops,  but  some  adventurous  girls  reblock 


174  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

their  own  hats  by  fitting  them  wet  over  a  bowl  and 
using  flatirons  to  hold  them  down. 

Magazine  Helps 

There  are  several  millinery  magazines  as  well  as 
sections  in  Vogue,  the  Ladies  Home  Journal,  Vanity 
Fair,  Woman's  Home  Companion,  and  others,  which 
may  be  helpful  to  the  hat-maker.  Many  people,  to 
whom  the  intricacies  of  fitting  a  dress  are  unknown, 
can  trim  their  own  hats,  and  it  is  not  at  all  bold  to 
attempt  it  with  the  hints  that  have  been  given  in  this 
book. 


Chapter  XVIII 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  STOCK  OF  A 
TYPICAL  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

DIVISIONS 

A.  Trimmed  Hats 

B.  Untrimmed  Hats 

C.  Trimmings 

D.  Workroom  Supplies 

A  —  TRIMMED  HATS 
I.  Materials 
(a)  Straw 

Tuscan 

Leghorn 

Milan 

Patent  Milan 

Lisere 

Split 

Hemp 

Milan  Hemp 

Imitation  Hemp 

Chip 

Yedda 

Ramie 

Panama  (Genuine  and  Imitation) 

Wenchow 

Bamboo 

Buri 

175 


176  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Kalasio 

Buntal 

Pandan 

(b)  Felt 

Wool 

Fur 

Cotton 

(c)  Fabrics 

Velvet 

Hatter's  Plush 

Velour 

Chenille 

Silk 

Satin 

Chiffon 

Net 

Tulle 

Maline 

Lace 

Georgette  Crepe 

Linen 

(d)  Fur 

Seal 

Raccoon 

Mink 

Beaver 

Squirrel 

(e)  Miscellaneous 

Angora  Braid 
Horsehair  Braid 
Pyroxylin  Braid 
2.  Shapes 

Rolled  brim 

Straight  brim 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  STOCK  ,  177 

Sailor 
Mushroom 
Tricorn 
Turban 
Toque 
Picture  hats 
Gainsboro 
3.  Colors 
All 
B  —  UNTRIMMED  HATS 

Materials,  Shapes,  Colors  much  the  same  as  in 

trimmed  hats 
C  —  TRIMMINGS 

i.  Feathers  and  Plumage 
(a)  Kinds 

Ostrich 

Vulture 

Paradise 

Numadie 

Gourah 

Heron 

Egret 

Peacock 

Pheasant 

Parrot 

Guinea-fowl 

Pigeon 

Goose 

Duck 

Turkey 

Barnyard  Fowl 

Spanish  Coq 

Burnt  Goose 

Marabou 


178  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

(b)  Forms 

Aigrettes 

Wings 

Breasts 

Pads 

Bands 

Pompons 

Quills 

Plumes 

Tips 

(c)  Colors 

Natural 

Dyed 

Bleached 

2.  Flowers  and  Foliage 

(a)  Kinds 

Roses 

Field  Flowers 

Applique  Flowers 

Violets 

Small  Flowers 

Odd  Flowers 

Rare  Flowers 

Natural  Flowers 

Foliage 

Fruits 

(b)  Materials 

Silk 

Satin 

Velvet 

Velveteen 

Muslin 

Tinsel  ClotK 

Ribbon 


CLASSIFICATION  OF  STOCK  179 

Chenille 

Leather 

Celluloid 

Straw 

Feathers 

3.  Ribbons 

(a)  Kinds 

Grosgrain 

Faille 

Taffeta 

Georgette 

Moire 

Cire 

Satin  (Plain  and  Double-Faced) 

Velvet 

Crepe 

Metallic 

(b)  Widths 

No.  i  —  14  in. 

(c)  Uses 

Bands 

Cockades 

Bows 

Plaitings 

Shirrings 

4.  Ornaments 

(a)  Kinds 

Cabochons 

Pins 

Buckles 

Slides 

Novelties 

Veils 


l8o  MILLINERY  DEPARTMENT 

Beads 

Worsted 

Chenille 

Embroidery 

Bands 

Motifs 

Emblems 

Painting 

(b)  Materials 
Jet 
Steel 

Rhinestones 
Mother-of-pearl 
Glass 
Braid 
Silver 
Gilt 
Net 
Maline 
Velvet 
Worsted 
5.  Lace 

D  —  WORKROOM 
i.  Supplies 
Willow 
Buckram 
Wire 
Needles 
Thread 
Linings 


Appendix 

BOOKS  FOR  REFERENCE 

The  World's  Commercial  Products,  Freeman  &  Chandler. 

Ginn. 

Textiles,  Woolman  and  McGowan.     Macmillan. 
Shelter  and  Clothing,  Kinne  &  Cooley.     Macmillan. 
Color  Harmony  in  Dress,  G.  A.  Audsley.     McBride,  Nast 

&  Co. 
The  Principles  of  Harmony  and  Contrast  of  Color,  M.  E. 

Chevreul.     G.  Bell  &  Sons  (London). 
Dyes  and  Dyeing,  C.  E.  Pellew.     McBride,  Nast  &  Co. 
Millinery  Trade  Review. 
Textile  World  Record. 
Dry  Goods  Economist. 
Modern  Drapery  and  Allied  Trades. 


181 


INDEX 


ABACA  HEMP,  22,  24 
ADAMBA  HATS  (See  "Panama  hats") 
AIGRET,  83 
AIGRETTE, 73 
APPLIQUE  FLOWERS,  90 
ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS  (See  "Flowers") 
ARTIFICIAL  LIGHT,  EFFECT  ON  COLOR, 
123 

B 

BAMBOO  HATS,  39 

quality,  42 

BAMBOO  WEAVING,  40 
BLOCKING,  50 

BLUE,  112,  113,  115,  132,  134 
BODY  HATS, 

felt,  52 

fur,  69 

straw,  32 

velvet  and  other  fabrics,  63 
BOOZE,  OSTRICH  FEATHERS,  76 
Bows,  155 

BRAIDS  (See  "Straw  braids") 
BROKEN  COLORS,  115 
BUNTAL  HATS,  43 
BURI  HATS,  42 
BYAX,  OSTRICH  FEATHERS,  76 


CA»ROTING,  54 

CASES,  DISPLAY,  4 

CHARMEUSE,  61 

CHICKS,  OSTRICH  FEATHERS,  76 


CHINESE    STRAW    AND    BRAIDS    (See 

"Straw,"  "Straw  braids") 
CHIP  BRAID,  27 
CHOICE  OF  HATS  (See  also  "Faces, 

types  of,"  "Color") 

bad  taste,  101 

bringing  out  best  features  in  face, 
127,  139,  143 

change  in  styles,  105 

extreme    and    conservative    styles, 
1 06 

good  taste,  100 

importance  of  choice,  100,  139 

line  and  color,  103,  109,  139 

most  important  elements,  109 

putting    of    oneself    in    customer's 
place,  107 

study  of  dress,  104,  108 

style  in  millinery,  105 

suitability,  107,  143 

•what  constitutes  a  suitable  hat,  107 
CHRYSANTHEMUM  BRAID,  31 
CIRE  RIBBONS,  95 
CITRINE, 115 
COLOR  DIAGRAM,  119 
COLORS, 

absorption  and  reflection,  116 

advancing,  113 

broken,  115 

cold,  115 

combinations,  no 

complementary,  117 

effect  on  each  other,  116 

harmonious,  121 

hues,  120 

intensity,  121 

luminous  and  somber,  114 


183 


184 


INDEX 


COLORS — Continued 

primary,  112,  113 

properties,  120 

reflections,  116 

retiring,  113 

scales,  121 

secondary,  113, 114 

spectrum,  in 

standard,  112 

tertiary,  115 

training  color  sense,  126,  127 

under  artificial  light,  123 

values,  1 20 

warm,  115 
COQ  OR  COQUE  FEATHER,  82 


DEPARTMENT  (See  also  "Salespeople, 

suggestions") 

atmosphere,  2 

general  impression,  i 

plan,  I 

stock  arrangement,  2-7 
DOMESTIC  FOWLS,  81 
DOUBLE  HATS,  41 
DUCK,  WILD  (See  "Feathers") 

£ 

EGRET  (See  "Feathers") 
F 

FABRIC  HATS, 

pontine,  68 

silk  and  satin,  66 

various  materials,  67 

velvet,  63 
FACES,  TYPES  OF,  144 

angular,  149 

flat  features,  145 

round, 145 

snub  noses,  147 


FACES,  TYPES  OF — Continued 

thin,  147 
FEATHERS,  72 

bird  of  paradise,  73,  74,  84 

egret  or  aigret,  73,  74,  83 

fowl,  74,  81 

gourah,  73,  74,  84 

guinea-fowl,  74,  8 1 

laws  for  conservation  of  birds,  72 

list,  74 

numadie,  73,  74,  84 

ostrich,     73     (See     also     "Ostrich 

feathers") 
parrot,  74,  8 1 

peacock  and  pheasant,  74,  80 
pigeon,  74,  8 r 
plumes,  77 

Spanish  coq  and  hackle,  74,  82 
treatment  of,  73 
vulture,  74,  79 
wild  duck,  74,  8 1 
FELT, 

carroting,  54 
charmeuse,  61 
cleansing  the  fur,  55 
drying  and  cutting,  54 
grades,  60 
hats, 

centers  of  industry,  62 

dyeing,  58 

finishing  process,  59 

forming,  56 

history,  61 

sizing,  57 

stiffening,  59 

stretching,  59 
mixing  the  fur,  55 
process  of  manufacture,  53 
sorting  and  grading  fur  and  wool,  55 
sources,  S3 
washing  the  skins,  54 
FELTING  PROCESS,  57 
FELTING  PROPERTIES  OF  WOOL  AND 
FUR,  52 


INDEX 


185 


FLORENTINA  STRAW,  17 
PLOSS,  OSTRICH  FEATHERS,  76 
FLOWERS, 

applique\  90 

dyeing,  86 

field,  89 

goffered,  87 

manufacturing,  87 

materials,  86 

miscellaneous,  91 

natural,  91 

rare,  91 

roses,  85,  88,  89 

slip-ups,  87 

small,  85,  89,  90 

sources  of  manufacture,  85 

stiffening  and  culling  out,  86 

violets,  85,  88 
FOLIAGE,  91 

FORMOSA  HATS  (See  "Panama  hats") 
FRUITS,  92 
FUR  HATS,  69 
FUR  TRIMMINGS,  99 


HAT  STRAW   (See   "Straw,"   "Straw 

braids") 
HAT  TRIMMINGS, 

bands,  97 

embroidery  and  painting,  98 

feathers,  72 

flowers,  85 

ornaments,  98 

varieties,  70 
HATS  (See  also  names  of  hats) 

choosing  of  (See  "Choice  of  hats") 

freshening  and  cleaning,  157 

linings,  156 
HEMP,  22  (See  also  "Straw,"  "Straw 

braids") 

hats,  23 

imitation,  26 

Milan,  25 

weaving  industry,  23 
HERON,  83 
HORSEHAIR,  30 
HUES  (See  "Colors") 


GOFFERED  FLOWERS,  87 

GRAY,  116 

GRAYING  COLORS,  121 

GREEN,  113-115,  131 

GUINEA  FOWL  (See  "Feathers") 


ITALIAN      STRAW 
"Straw  braids") 


KALASIO  HATS,  43 


(See       "Straw,1! 


HACKLE  FEATHERS,  82 
HAND-MADE  HATS,  32 
HAT  FACTORIES, 

different  kinds,  47 

location,  46 
HAT  FRAMES, 

buckram  or  willow,  153 

measurements,  153 

wire,  154 
HAT  MATERIALS,  MINOR,  44 


LACE,  TUSCAN  (See  "Straw,1 

braids") 

LEGHORN  HATS,  16 
LEGHORN  PLAITING,  17 
LisfiRfi  STRAW,  19 
LYONS  VELVET,  64 

M 

MACHINE-MADE  HATS, 
blocking,  50 


'  Straw 


186 


INDEX 


MACHINE- MADE  HATS — Continued 

finishing,  51 

sewed  braids,  51 

sewing  braid,  49 

sizing,  50 
MAKING  AND  TRIMMING  HATS,  152 

at  home,  169-174 

bows,  155 

linings,  156 

method  of  affixing  trimmings,  156 
MALE  AND  FEMALE  FEATHERS,  76 
MANILA  HEMP,  22,  24 
MAROON,  116 
MILAN  BRAID  (See  "Straw,"  "Straw 

braids") 
MILAN  HEMP,  25 
MONO-CHROMATIC  COLOR  HARMONY, 

122 

MOUNTAIN  LEGHORN,  17 
MOURNING  HATS,  67 


NEUTRAL  COLORS,  135 
NOSTRALE  STRAW,  17 


OLIVE,  1 15 

ORANGE,  113,  114,  115,  130 
OSTRICH  FARMS,  75 
OSTRICH  FEATHERS,  73 

black  dyes,  78 

bleached,  76 

booze,  76 

byax,  76 

chicks,  76 

dyeing,  77 

floss,  76 

forms,  76 

long,  76 

male  and  female,  76 

spade,  76 


PAGLIA  STRAW,  17 
PANAMA  HATS,  32 

blocking,  51 

East  Indian  hats,  44 

finishing,  36 

gathering  the  raw  material,  34 

imitations, 

adamba,  33,  37 
Formosa,  33,  38 
toyo.33,38 

location  of  industry,  33 

method  ot  cleaning,  36 

plaiting,  35 

process  of  making,  35 

tests  for  quality,  37 

toughening  and  bleaching,  34 
P  AND  AN  HATS,  44 

PARADISE,  BIRD  OF  (See  "Feathers") 
PARROT  (See  "Feathers") 
PATENT  MILAN  STRAW,  18 
PEACOCK  (See  "Feathers") 
PEDAL  BRAID,  18 
PEDAL  LEGHORN,  17 
PHEASANT  (See  "Feathers") 
PHILIPPINE  FACTORIES,  25 
PHILIPPINE  HATS,  VARIETIES,  38,  45 
PIGEON  (See  "Feathers") 
PILE  FABRICS,  MANUFACTURE  OF,  63 
PLUMES,    76    (See   also  '"Feathers," 

"Ostrich  feathers") 

willow,  77 

PONTINE  FABRIC,  68 
PRIMARY  COLORS,  112 
PYROXYLIN,  30 


RAMIE  STRAW,  28 
RED,  112,  113,  115,  129 
RIBBONS, 

cire,  96 

patterns,  95 


INDEX 


187 


RIBBONS — Continued 

silk  and  satin,  93 

two-tone,  94 

velvet,  95 

weaves,  94 

widths,  96 
RICE  STRAW,  20 
ROSES  (See  "Flowers") 
ROSETTES,  155 
RUSSET,  115 

S 

SALESPEOPLE,  SUGGESTIONS  (See  also 

"Department") 

importance  of  knowledge  of  color, 
no 

knowledge  of  merchandise,  167 

putting  oneself  in  customer's  place, 
107 

selection  of  stock,  163 

suiting  age  of  customer,  108,  149 
SALESROOMS,  i 
SECONDARY  COLORS,  113,  114 
SHIPMENTS,  BRAID,  48 
SILK  (See  "Silk  Manual") 
SILK  AND  SATIN  HATS,  66 
SILK  HATS, 

durability,  66 

weighted  silk,  66 
SISAL  HEMP,  22 
SLIP-UPS,  87 

SPADE,  OSTRICH  FEATHERS,  76 
SPANISH  COQ  (See  "Feathers") 
SPLIT  JAP  STRAW,  19 
SPLIT  STRAW,  19 
SPORT  HATS,  68 
STOCK,  ARRANGEMENT  OF,  S 
STOCKROOMS,  7 
STRAW, 

barley  and  rice,  20 

centers  of  plaiting  industry,  u 

culture,  9 

gathering  and  bleaching,  9 


STRAW — Continued 

Italian,  8,  15,  17,  18,  44 

method  of  plaiting,  12 

Philippine,  22,  28,  39,  43,  44 

Swiss,  21 
STRAW  BRAIDS, 

Chinese,  8,  n,  19,  20,  21,  30,  48 

chip,  27 

chrysanthemum,  31 

Florence  Tuscan,  16 

Florentina,  17 

hand-sewed,  51 

horsehair,  30 

Japanese,  n,  19,  20,  22,  24,  25,  27, 
28 

lace,  Tuscan,  15,  51 

machine-made,  26 

making  in  China,  20 

Milan,  18,  21 

Milan  hemp,  25 

mountain  leghorn,  17 

nostrale,  17 

number  of  pieces  in  bale,  20 

oriental,  20 

paglia,  17 

pedal,  17,  18 

pedal  leghorn,  17 

Philippine,  23,  25,  28 

pyroxylin,  30 

ramie,  28 

shipments  to  factories,  48 

split  Jap,  19 

Swiss,  19,  21,  24 

tagals,  22,  48 

Tuscan,  15,  16 

United  States,  26,  29 

varieties,  14 

yedda,  28 
STRAW  PLAITING, 

centers  of  industry,  n 

leghorns,  17 

method,  12 

sorting,  10 

split  straw,  19 


i88 


INDEX 


STYLE, 

changes,  105 
element  in  millinery,  105 
how  influenced,  71 
Swiss  BRAIDS,  21 
Swiss  MILAN  HEMP,  21 


TABLES, 

stock,  2 

trying  on,  4 
TAGAL  BRAIDS,  22 
TERTIARY  COLORS,  115 
TOGO  HATS  (See  "Panama  hats") 
TRIMMINGS  (See  "Hat  trimming") 
TURKEY  PLUMAGE,  81 
TUSCAN  BRAID,  15,  16 


VELVET — Continued 

manufacture  of,  63 

ribbons,  95 

use  in  hats,  63 

ways  to  determine  quality,  64 
VIOLET,  113,  114,  115,  133 
VIOLETS  (See  "Flowers") 
VULTURE  WINGS,  79 

W 

WARM  COLORS,  115 

WEIGHTED  SILK,  66  (See  also  "Silk 

Manual") 

WENCHOW  HATS,  38 
WILLOW  PLUMES,  77 
WOOL  (See  "Felting") 
WORKROOMS,  7 


VELVET  (See  also  "Silk  Manual") 
hats,  manufacture  of,  65 
Lyons,  64 


YEDDA  STRAW,  28 

YELLOW,  112,  113,  115,  130,  136 


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